FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- January 22, 2001

WORLD PREMIER OF PIAZZOLLA/BRAGATO WORKS
TO BE PERFORMED AT THE RIDGEWOOD CONSERVATORY
FACULTY RECITAL ON FEBRUARY 4, 2001

José Bragato arrangements of two pieces composed by Astor Piazzolla will be premiered at the Ridgewood Conservatory Faculty Recital in Ridgewood, New Jersey, on Sunday evening, February 4, 2001.

The two pieces, “Fuga y Misterio” and “Oblivion” are examples of Astor Piazzolla’s famous “tango nuevo” concert style. Originally written for the opera, Maria de Buenos Aires, “Fuga y Misterio” is a four-part fugue in E minor, maintaining the original tango form of fast-slow-fast. The José Bragato arrangement is written for flute, cello and piano. Originally composed for the Marco Bellocchio film, Henry IV, “Oblivion” has been orchestrated by Bragato for flute, violin, viola, cello and piano. Lifelong friends, Astor Piazzolla and José Bragato worked together for most of their professional careers. In addition to their many musical collaborations, they perfomed together in all of Piazzolla’s many chamber groups. 

PIAZZOLLA AND BRAGATO

Unquestionably the most well-known tango composer and bandoneónist in the world, Astor Pantaleon Piazzolla was born of Italian parents in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 1921, and died in Buenos Aires in 1992. Piazzolla left Argentina with his family and moved to New York in 1925, growing up in the Little Italy section of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. During the Depression years, Astor Piazzolla taught himself to play the bandoneon bought for him by his father at a local pawnshop. His first teacher was a classical concert pianist, Bela Wilda, a disciple of Sergei Rachmaninoff. Piazzolla moved back to Argentina in his late teens, becoming a bandoneon player with the Anibal Troilo Orchestra, and an arranger for Troilo. He studied theory and composition with Alberto Ginastra in 1941, and with Nadia Boulanger in 1954. In the late 1950s, Piazzolla’s octet and quintet (bandoneon, violin, piano, electric guitar and bass) brought him international fame. His ”tango-nuevo” music is a considered to be a fusion of many styles, with strong classical, klezmer and jazz influences. Piazzolla's works have been performed worldwide by such notable artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Quincy Jones, Gidon Kremer, Daniel Baremboim, Gary Burton, The Kronos Quartet, Mstislav Rostopovich, Michael Tilson Thomas and Grace Jones.

World famous cellist and composer José Bragato was born in Italy in 1915, where he began his music education at the Jacobo Tomandini Conservatory. After emigrating to Argentina in 1928, Bragato studied cello at the “Conservatorio Nacional de Música Manuel de Falla.” In addition to performing as soloist with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra, the Theater Colon of Buenos Aires Orchestra and the Porto Allegre Symphony Orchestra in Brazil, José Bragato was a soloist with the Rio Grande Do Norte University Symphony Orchestra, where he founded a string quartet and chamber orchestra. Over the years, Bragato has been a member of numerous Argentinean and Brasilian folklore ensembles and chamber music groups, including the Carlos Pessina String Quartet. Mr. Bragato is responsible for the creation of the archives of Argentinian chamber music, including over 1700 works. In 1998, José Bragato received the Buenos Aires “Citizen Emeritus” Award. Still active today, Mr. Bragato is currently dedicated to composition, and a member of the Tango Orchestra of Buenos Aires.

The mutual respect and trust that developed between the two musicians during their years together led to José Bragato transcribing and archiving many of Astor Piazzolla's compositions. Since Piazzolla's death in 1992,  Bragato has been widely considered to be the administrator of his musical inheritance.

ABOUT THE CONCERT

The new arrangements being premiered on February 4th were created by José Bragato at the request of Maestra Pamela Vera for the upcoming Ridgewood Conservatory Faculty Recital. Ms. Vera’s association with Mr. Bragato developed through her endeavors as the founder and conductor of The Maya Chamber Orchestra, a group dedicated to performing Latin American orchestral music.

Premiering the arrangements will be Ridgewood Conservatory faculty members, flutist Louis Caimano, violinist Beverly Somach, violist Louis Day, cellist Elina Lang, with Pamela Vera on piano.

Along with the Piazzolla/Bragato premiers, the program will feature a variety of classical and jazz works by notables such as Villa-Lobos, Kulaugh, Gershwin and Debussy performed by  members of the school’s faculty. “We’re extremely proud to have such highly accomplished musicians on our staff,“ comments Conservatory director, Louis Caimano. “In addition to their many years of experience and demonstrated expertise as teachers, our faculty members are virtuosi in their own right, with outstanding performance credentials that range from New York’s Broadway musicals, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall to concerts and symphonic performances throughout Europe, South America and the Far East.”

 THE RIDGEWOOD CONSERVATORY FACULTY RECITAL

The Ridgewood Conservatory was founded by Louis Caimano, B.S, B.M., M.M., LAUREATE as an outgrowth of his private teaching practice of over twenty-five years. Opening its doors in September of 1998 with just four instructors and sixty woodwind students, the faculty has grown to include twenty-two string, woodwind, brass, percussion, piano and vocal instructors teaching 250 lessons per week. Located in Ridgewood, New Jersey, The Ridgewood Conservatory provides private music lessons, chamber music and jazz ensembles, and Theory and Musicianship classes to students of all ages from Bergen, Passaic and Essex counties.

This year’s Ridgewood Conservatory Faculty Recital will be held at 7pm on Sunday, February 4, 2001. The concert will be presented at the George Washington Middle School on Washington Place in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door at $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. Students registered for the Spring 2001 Semester at The Conservatory will be admitted free of charge.

For more information, please contact The Ridgewood Conservatory at

201-612-6686.