José Bragato
Encyclopedia
José Bragato is a renowned Argentine
cellist, composer, conductor, arranger and musical archivist who, in his early career, was principal cellist in the Colón Theatre orchestra in Buenos Aires
, Argentina. Apart from his involvement in classical music he also performed for many years in a number of Ástor Piazzolla
’s Nuevo tango
(New tango) ensembles where his cello solos, which had never before featured in tango
, put him in the vanguard of Nuevo tango from its birth in the 1950s. Since then he has done numerous and varied arrangements of Piazzolla's compositions.
, Italy
, in 1915 into a family of musicians, the fourth child of Enrico Bragato and Erminia Castronin. His father and his father’s elder brother, Giuseppe, were both flautists. He had an elder brother, Bruno, a younger brother, Enrique, and two older sisters, Vera and Dina.
In 1925 José joined the Jacopo Tomadini Conservatory in Udine, where he sang in the choir and later studied the piano; his brother, Bruno, studied the flute.
, a neighbourhood in the north of the city of Buenos Aires. José, together with his mother and the other children joined them the following year.
José continued to study the piano whilst in 1930 Bruno joined the orchestra of the Colón Theatre as a flautist and his father was playing the flute in various city orchestras. That same year the city of Buenos Aires suffered severe flooding as the River Plate
overflowed its banks and the Bragato family lost everything, including José’s piano.
In 1930 a colleague of Bruno in the Colón Theatre orchestra, the German cellist and teacher Ernst Peltz, began to give José free lessons on a cello which he provided for him and it was with this instrument that he entered the Manuel de Falla
National Conservatory of Music. Around this time his younger brother Enrique started to learn the violin but soon abandoned it in favour of the bassoon. In 1936 the family moved to Córdoba Avenue
in the centre of Buenos Aires.
an folk music whilst playing classical music with his brothers and father, Enrico. In 1937 he played in several orchestras of tango and jazz and one of his first jobs as a cellist was in the tango orchestra of Mario Maurano, and later in the orchestra of Juan de Dios Filiberto
, where he played with his father Enrico (who was also playing in the Avenida Theatre
at that time). With his professional career underway, José was also playing with Paraguayan orchestras such as that of José Asunción Flores
, and the Francisco Alvarenga ensemble.
In 1946, he joined the orchestra of the Colón Theatre as a cellist and in the same year he became principal cellist in the Buenos Aires Philharmonic
Orchestra and one of its founder members, leaving the orchestra two years later to become principal cellist in the Colón Theatre orchestra. At the same time, José was playing the cello in several chamber music string quartets, including the Buenos Aires Quartet and the Carlos Pessina Quartet. Alongside this he was also playing in tango orchestras, including that of Enrique Francini and Armando Pontier, and was beginning to compose.
In 1950, he also began conducting orchestras and arranging pieces for various radio stations including the National Radio Orchestra and Radio Begrano. He was a co-founder of the Channel 13 orchestra, together with the Italian musician Lucio Milena, and joined Leo Lipesker and the Primer Cuarteto de Cámara del Tango.
During this period he joined the tango orchestra of Atilio Stampone
orchestra and was invited to play in recording sessions with the tango orchestras of Anibal Troilo
and Osvaldo Fresedo
.
ensembles. Previously the violin had been the only stringed instrument featured as a solo instrument in tango. Nuevo tango, which included novel harmonic and melodic structures, was to change the sound of tango forever. From that moment on José became a fervent admirer and close friend of Piazzolla who would later dedicate one of his tango compositions, Bragatissimo, to him as a tribute to their close association over many years.
During the period 1956-57 José made several recordings with the Octeto and the Orquesta and would later join Piazzolla's Nuevo Octeto, Conjunto 9, and later his New Tango Sextet, the last of his many ensembles. Apart from his numerous performances with Piazzolla, José spent much of his time making arrangements of Piazzolla’s music for duos, trios, string quartets and full orchestras which have helped to bring tango to a wide international audience.
in Brazil
. Three years after leaving Argentina he joined the University of Natal
, in northern Brazil, where he played and taught chamber music. During his time in Brazil he founded several classical music archives and was conductor for several chamber music ensembles. At the same time he was becoming recognized as an arranger of Paraguayan folk music, including guaranias
and polkas.
His last solo performance, when he was 80 years old, was with the Atilio Stampone ensemble in Radio City Music Hall
, New York
, accompanying the Argentine ballet dancer Julio Bocca
and his company.
His composition Graciela y Buenos Aires, a tango for cello and string orchestra, has become the mainstay of the symphonic tango repertoire in Europe where his works are widely performed.
Francisco Canaro Award for his career awarded by SADAIC in 1999.
Prize “Merito a la Trayectoria” by the City of Buenos Aires, 1999.
Latin Grammy Award in 2002 as composer and arranger of Piazzolla’s music for sting quartets.
"Due Mondi" of Friuli, Italy.
A un Amigo
Amo Ka Aru lado
Ave Maria Andina
Campanas de la Encarnacion
Chacarera
Cuatro Fragmentos Liricos
Cuatro Bocetos Sobre Ritmos
Dos Canciones Argentinas
Dos Canciones sobre Ritmos Paraguayos
El Instante Anhelado
El Vals de Laura Andrea
Elsita
Fantasía Folklórica
Farra Jhape Sapucai
Flauta Retozona
Graciela y Buenos Aires
Impresionista
In Memoriam
Leitmotiv
Lis Ciancons Che Ciantave Me Mari
Luz Del Corazón
Malambo
Marcha Funebre Para Mis Padres
Melodía Para Mis Padres
Mi Paraguay
Milontan
Minibi Retia E
Nieblas
Noposepe
Para Adriana
Para Candy
Para Gina
Paraguay - Yasî Retá
Saudade
Sé Que Te Perdí
Solo Una Vez
Suite For Strings
Techagaú
Tres Canciones Paraguayas
Tres Movimientos Porteños
Triste y Zamba
Tu Silencio
Vanguardista
Villancico
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
cellist, composer, conductor, arranger and musical archivist who, in his early career, was principal cellist in the Colón Theatre orchestra in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina. Apart from his involvement in classical music he also performed for many years in a number of Ástor Piazzolla
Ástor Piazzolla
Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music...
’s Nuevo tango
Nuevo tango
Tango Nuevo - either a form of music in which new elements are incorporated into traditional Argentine tango, or an evolution of tango dance that began to develop in the 1980s...
(New tango) ensembles where his cello solos, which had never before featured in tango
Tango music
Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
, put him in the vanguard of Nuevo tango from its birth in the 1950s. Since then he has done numerous and varied arrangements of Piazzolla's compositions.
Early life
José Bragato was born in UdineUdine
Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in 1915 into a family of musicians, the fourth child of Enrico Bragato and Erminia Castronin. His father and his father’s elder brother, Giuseppe, were both flautists. He had an elder brother, Bruno, a younger brother, Enrique, and two older sisters, Vera and Dina.
In 1925 José joined the Jacopo Tomadini Conservatory in Udine, where he sang in the choir and later studied the piano; his brother, Bruno, studied the flute.
The Young Immigrant
Times were hard in Italy after the First World War and in 1927 his father, Enrico, and older brother, Bruno, left for Argentina were they settled initially in SaavedraSaavedra, Buenos Aires
Saavedra is a barrio of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located in the Northern end of the city proper, close to Belgrano and Villa Urquiza. Its northern border is General Paz Avenue. Among the main features of the neighbourhood is Saavedra Park, which has large picnic areas and sports facilities...
, a neighbourhood in the north of the city of Buenos Aires. José, together with his mother and the other children joined them the following year.
José continued to study the piano whilst in 1930 Bruno joined the orchestra of the Colón Theatre as a flautist and his father was playing the flute in various city orchestras. That same year the city of Buenos Aires suffered severe flooding as the River Plate
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
overflowed its banks and the Bragato family lost everything, including José’s piano.
In 1930 a colleague of Bruno in the Colón Theatre orchestra, the German cellist and teacher Ernst Peltz, began to give José free lessons on a cello which he provided for him and it was with this instrument that he entered the Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla y Matheu was a Spanish Andalusian composer of classical music. With Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados and Joaquín Turina he is one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20th century....
National Conservatory of Music. Around this time his younger brother Enrique started to learn the violin but soon abandoned it in favour of the bassoon. In 1936 the family moved to Córdoba Avenue
Córdoba Avenue
Córdoba Avenue is one of the principal thoroughfares in Buenos Aires, Argentina.-History:Mayor Torcuato de Alvear, inspired by the urban redevelopment works in Paris at the hand of Baron Haussmann, drew up master plans for major boulevards, running east to west, every six blocks. During the 1880s,...
in the centre of Buenos Aires.
Early career
José’s first public performances were around 1935, playing Argentine and ParaguayParaguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
an folk music whilst playing classical music with his brothers and father, Enrico. In 1937 he played in several orchestras of tango and jazz and one of his first jobs as a cellist was in the tango orchestra of Mario Maurano, and later in the orchestra of Juan de Dios Filiberto
Juan de Dios Filiberto
Juan de Dios Filiberto was an Argentine violinist, conductor, poet and composer who became prominent in the Argentine tango genre.-Life and work:...
, where he played with his father Enrico (who was also playing in the Avenida Theatre
Avenida Theatre
The Avenida Theatre is a stage theatre in Buenos Aires, Argentina.-Overview:The Avenida Theatre was inaugurated on Buenos Aires' central Avenida de Mayo in 1908 with a production of Spanish dramatist Lope de Vega's Justice Without Revenge...
at that time). With his professional career underway, José was also playing with Paraguayan orchestras such as that of José Asunción Flores
José Asunción Flores
José Asunción Flores was a Paraguayan composer and creator of the Guarania music genre.-Early life:Flores was born in the poor neighborhood of La Chacarita, in Asunción. As a kid, he had to work as a paperboy and shoeshiner in order to help his mother with food and other necessities...
, and the Francisco Alvarenga ensemble.
In 1946, he joined the orchestra of the Colón Theatre as a cellist and in the same year he became principal cellist in the Buenos Aires Philharmonic
Buenos Aires Philharmonic
The Buenos Aires Philharmonic is an Argentinian orchestra based in Buenos Aires. Founded in 1946, it is based in the renowned Colón Theatre, and is considered one of the more prestigious orchestras in its nation and Latin America, and has received several honours in 60 years of history. Its local...
Orchestra and one of its founder members, leaving the orchestra two years later to become principal cellist in the Colón Theatre orchestra. At the same time, José was playing the cello in several chamber music string quartets, including the Buenos Aires Quartet and the Carlos Pessina Quartet. Alongside this he was also playing in tango orchestras, including that of Enrique Francini and Armando Pontier, and was beginning to compose.
In 1950, he also began conducting orchestras and arranging pieces for various radio stations including the National Radio Orchestra and Radio Begrano. He was a co-founder of the Channel 13 orchestra, together with the Italian musician Lucio Milena, and joined Leo Lipesker and the Primer Cuarteto de Cámara del Tango.
During this period he joined the tango orchestra of Atilio Stampone
Atilio Stampone
Atilio Stampone is an Argentine pianist, composer and arranger prominent in the Tango genre.-Life and work:He was born to Romana Zangone, from Calabria, and Antonio Stampone, a pasta maker from Napoli, in the middle-class San Cristóbal section of Buenos Aires...
orchestra and was invited to play in recording sessions with the tango orchestras of Anibal Troilo
Aníbal Troilo
Aníbal Carmelo Troilo was an Argentine tango musician.Anibal Troilo was a bandoneon player, composer, and bandleader in Argentina. His orquesta típica was among the most popular with social dancers during the golden age of tango , but he changed to a concert sound by the late 1950s...
and Osvaldo Fresedo
Osvaldo Fresedo
Osvaldo Fresedo , nicknamed El pibe de La Paternal was an Argentine songwriter and director of a tango orchestra. He had the longest recording career in tango, from 1925 to 1980.- Career :...
.
Nuevo Tango
In 1955 Ástor Piazzolla formed his Octeto Buenos Aires and Orquesta de Cuerdas (String Orchestra) and invited José to play the cello as a solo instrument in these Nuevo tangoNuevo tango
Tango Nuevo - either a form of music in which new elements are incorporated into traditional Argentine tango, or an evolution of tango dance that began to develop in the 1980s...
ensembles. Previously the violin had been the only stringed instrument featured as a solo instrument in tango. Nuevo tango, which included novel harmonic and melodic structures, was to change the sound of tango forever. From that moment on José became a fervent admirer and close friend of Piazzolla who would later dedicate one of his tango compositions, Bragatissimo, to him as a tribute to their close association over many years.
During the period 1956-57 José made several recordings with the Octeto and the Orquesta and would later join Piazzolla's Nuevo Octeto, Conjunto 9, and later his New Tango Sextet, the last of his many ensembles. Apart from his numerous performances with Piazzolla, José spent much of his time making arrangements of Piazzolla’s music for duos, trios, string quartets and full orchestras which have helped to bring tango to a wide international audience.
Years in Exile
During the period of Argentine military dictatorship from 1976 to 1982, he left Argentina and became principal cellist in the Orchestra of Porto AlegrePorto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Three years after leaving Argentina he joined the University of Natal
Natal, Rio Grande do Norte
-History:The northeastern tip of South America, Cabo São Roque, to the north of Natal and the closest point to Europe from Latin America, was first visited by European navigators in 1501, in the 1501–1502 Portuguese expedition led by Amerigo Vespucci, who named the spot after the saint of the day...
, in northern Brazil, where he played and taught chamber music. During his time in Brazil he founded several classical music archives and was conductor for several chamber music ensembles. At the same time he was becoming recognized as an arranger of Paraguayan folk music, including guaranias
Guarania (music)
Guarania is a style of music created in Paraguay by musician José Asunción Flores in 1925 with the purpose of expressing the character of the Paraguayan people...
and polkas.
Later years
In 1982 José returned to Argentina and was appointed assessor of music for the Argentine popular music archives of SADAIC (Argentine Society of Music Authors and Composers). SADAIC helps to promote the music of Argentine composers throughout the world by providing free sheet music to non-profit making musical and educational establishments.His last solo performance, when he was 80 years old, was with the Atilio Stampone ensemble in Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, accompanying the Argentine ballet dancer Julio Bocca
Julio Bocca
Julio Bocca is one of the most important ballet dancers of the later part of the 20th century and arguably the most important Argentine dancer of all time....
and his company.
His composition Graciela y Buenos Aires, a tango for cello and string orchestra, has become the mainstay of the symphonic tango repertoire in Europe where his works are widely performed.
Prizes & Awards
Honorary doctorate (Doctor Honoris Causa), University of Natal, Brazil.Francisco Canaro Award for his career awarded by SADAIC in 1999.
Prize “Merito a la Trayectoria” by the City of Buenos Aires, 1999.
Latin Grammy Award in 2002 as composer and arranger of Piazzolla’s music for sting quartets.
"Due Mondi" of Friuli, Italy.
Compositions
A Mauricio (Guarania y Galopa Paraguaya)A un Amigo
Amo Ka Aru lado
Ave Maria Andina
Campanas de la Encarnacion
Chacarera
Cuatro Fragmentos Liricos
Cuatro Bocetos Sobre Ritmos
Dos Canciones Argentinas
Dos Canciones sobre Ritmos Paraguayos
El Instante Anhelado
El Vals de Laura Andrea
Elsita
Fantasía Folklórica
Farra Jhape Sapucai
Flauta Retozona
Graciela y Buenos Aires
Impresionista
In Memoriam
Leitmotiv
Lis Ciancons Che Ciantave Me Mari
Luz Del Corazón
Malambo
Marcha Funebre Para Mis Padres
Melodía Para Mis Padres
Mi Paraguay
Milontan
Minibi Retia E
Nieblas
Noposepe
Para Adriana
Para Candy
Para Gina
Paraguay - Yasî Retá
Saudade
Sé Que Te Perdí
Solo Una Vez
Suite For Strings
Techagaú
Tres Canciones Paraguayas
Tres Movimientos Porteños
Triste y Zamba
Tu Silencio
Vanguardista
Villancico