Gerardo Gandini

Gerardo Gandini was a pianist, composer, and music director, who became one of the most relevant figures of Argentine New Music of the second half of the 20th century. He studied composition with Goffredo Petrassi and Alberto Ginastera, and piano with Roberto Caamaño, Pía Sebastiani, and Yvonne Loriod. He was Astor Piazzolla's pianist in the Sexteto Nuevo Tango formed in 1989.

Biography

Gandini was a professor at the Instituto Di Tella, Juilliard School, Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, Gilardo Gilardi Conservatory of Music, and National University of La Plata. He was also in charge of contemporary music courses at the Fundación San Telmo/Goethe-Institut in Buenos Aires and was in charge of one of the composition workshops at the Fundación Antorchas.
Gandini has been the musical director of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, musical director of the Teatro Colón, and director-founder of the Opera and Ballet Experimentation Center of the same theatre. During 2003, he was composer in residence at Teatro Colón.
He was the pianist in Sexteto Nuevo Tango, Astor Piazzolla's last sextet.

Awards

Gerardo Gandini has received numerous national and international awards:

First prize in the Freedom of Culture Conference
Grant from the Italian government
Guggenheim Fellowship
Molière Award in the music for theatre category
City Prize for Composition
Golden Osella of the Venice Film Festival, for the soundtrack of the film The Cloud by Fernando Solanas.
National Music Prize of Argentina, for the opera La ciudad ausente
Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Endowment for the Arts
Latin Grammy on 2004
Konex Award – Honorary Mention for his fundamental contributions to popular Argentine music
VIII Tomás Luis de Victoria Prize,, considered the equivalent to the Miguel de Cervantes Prize for classical music.
Platinum Konex Award for Best classical music composer of the decade in Argentina

Gandini was also regularly invited to participate as a juror in international composition competitions.

Works

Operas

La pasión de Buster Keaton, libretto by Rafael Alberti: one-act chamber opera for baritone with chamber ensemble, jazz quintet, puppets, and soundtrackEspejismos II : chamber opera for two sopranos, two mezzo-sopranos, two ballet dancers, and chamber ensemble La casa sin sosiego, libretto by Griselda Gambaro: chamber opera in six scenes for two sopranos, two mezzo-sopranos, contralto, tenor, six actors, and chamber orchestra La ciudad ausente, libretto by Ricardo Piglia: opera in two actsLiederkreis , libretto by Alejandro Tantanian

Works for orchestra

Variaciones para orquesta, for harp, piano, percussion, timbales, celesta, xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, and strings. Commissioned by ESSO Argentina, City Prize for Composition of Buenos Aires, premiered by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Richard Dufallo during the Interamerican Music Festival in Washington Cadencias, for harp, piano, percussion, and strings, premiered by the Academia Santa Cecilia orchestra, directed by Daniele Paris, Academia Nacional de Santa Cecilia, Rome Laberynthus Johannes, for orchestra divided in three groups: clavecin, harp, marimba, piano, xylophone, tenor saxophone, drums, percussion, and strings, premiered by the Buenos Aires Philharmonic orchestra, directed by Antonio Tauriello in the Teatro Colón Soria moria, for string orchestra made up of four solo violins, a string quartet, and a string trio . Recorded on disc. Published by Melodie Zurich. Premiered by the Camerata Bariloche on their European tour ... E sarà, five pieces for orchestra: Homenaje a Girolamo Frescobaldi, Círculos sobre "L'enharmonique", Planh, Sarabande et Double, and Homenaje a Domenico Scarlatti, for English horn, harp, percussion, solo violin, and strings. Premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra, directed by Antonio Tauriello, Teatro Cervantes Eusebius, five nocturnes for orchestra divided in four groups, group A: percussion, celesta, harp, strings; group B: strings s/b.; group C: strings; and group D: percussion, piano, and strings. Premiered by the Buenos Aires Philharmonic orchestra, directed by Juan Pablo Izquierdo, Teatro Colón Música ficción III, three pieces for chamber orchestra: Neobarroco, Pasos and Reescritura y continuación de una pieza de Arnold Schoenberg, for voice, percussion, piano, celesta, harmonica, strings. Premiered by the Contemporary Music Studio, directed by Gerardo Gandini, Goethe-Institut Mozartvariationen for voice, percussion, piano, and strings, premiered at the Goethe-Institut Estudios para descripción de la luna, for chamber orchestra, percussion, and piano, premiered by the Fundación Omega Seguros Sinfonietta, directed by Gerardo Gandini, Teatro General San Martín

Filmography

;MusicAllá lejos y hace tiempo dir. Manuel Antín