BRAGATO, José Luis – Concert Tango ‘Impresionista’ – SOLO CELLO AND STRING ORCHESTRA

Other Identification:
José Luis Bragato was born 12th October, 1915, in Udine, Italy, and his birth certificate gave his name as Giuseppe Bragato. However, he was based in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 1929 onwards. He developed a wide-ranging career, almost being known equally as cellist, pianist, arranger and composer.

Bragato was, from 1946, a member of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra as principal cellist, and was two years later chosen as principal cello of the ‘Orquesta Estable del Teatro Colón’ and worked with the orchestra until relinquishing the position in 1968. He was also invited as first cellist with the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra (Brazil) and was later hired by the University of Rio Grande Do Norte to found the institution’s quartet and its chamber orchestra. His last playing position was in the “Juan de Dios Filiberto” Orchestra of Buenos Aires.

Before this, in the mid-1950s, he opened up for himself a new path. He met Astor Piazzolla in 1955 and they hit it off wonderfully from the beginning; from this time he performed with Piazzolla’s most important groups such as the Octeto de Buenos Aires, the Nonet and the Sextet of the last years of Astor’s life. They formed an intense and close friendship, and Bragato becomes, at the request of Piazzolla himself, his most important official arranger of his works, being recognized worldwide for such great versions! Bragato was also a brilliant composer in his own right. Despite the Astor Piazzolla influence, Bragato nonetheless developed a style of composition verry much of his very own. For example, he wove into a number of his works elements of the more traditional Argentine folklore. Curiously, he was the author of songs and instrumental pieces on motifs and airs of Paraguayan music and orchestral arrangements (almost surely the result of the enthusiasm of his father for this music!).

Bragato’s original works include “Tres movimientos porteños” for string quartet, “Graciela y Buenos Aires” for cello and piano (or string orchestra); “Malambo rhythms”, “The songs my mother sang”; the Creole suite “Milontan, “Triste y Zamba” and “Chacarera”; “To Mauritius”; “Malambo”, ‘Impresionista’, among others.

He passed away on 18th July, 2017, at over 100 years of age, leaving a glorious legacy to Argentine music, and to all the younger Argentinean cellists.