Terig Tucci (June 23, 1897 – February 28, 1973) was an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

composer, violinist, pianist, and mandolinist. Tucci was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South Am ...

, in 1897. His first composition, “Cariños de madre” was performed for a

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...

at the Avenida Theatre in 1917. Following a career as a violinist in local cinema orchestras, he left for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1923. From 1930 to 1941 he performed for

NBC Radio The NBC, National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network it was ...

. Recording label

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

named Tucci executive producer of their lucrative

Latin American music The music of Latin America refers to music originating from Latin America, namely the Romance-speaking regions of the Americas south of the United States. Latin American music also incorporates African music from enslaved African people who we ...

unit in 1932. In 1934 he performed with fellow countryman

Carlos Gardel Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential int ...

during the

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combin ...

vocalist's

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-olde ...

contract. Remaining at the helm of RCA Victor's Latin unit, Tucci served as lead music arranger for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

' Pan American Symphony Orchestra from 1940 to 1949 where he collaborated with the accordionist

John Serry Sr. John Serry Sr. (born John Serrapica; January 29, 1915 – September 14, 2003) was an American concert accordionist, arranger, composer, organist, and educator. He performed on the CBS Radio and Television networks and contributed to Voice ...

and the conductor

Alfredo Antonini Alfredo Antonini (May 31, 1901 – November 3, 1983) was a leading Italian-American symphony conductor and composer who was active on the international concert stage as well as on the CBS radio and television networks from the 1930s through the ...

on the radio program '' Viva America''. During this tenure at CBS in New York City, he also collaborated with singers

Juan Arvizu Juan Nepomuceno Arvizu Santelices (known as Juan Arvizu; Santiago de Querétaro, May 22, 1900 - Mexico City, November 19, 1985), was an acclaimed lyric tenor in Mexico and a noted interpreter of the Latin American bolero and tango on the interna ...

, Nestor Mesta Chaires and Elsa Miranda. He also performed for

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ener ...

from 1941 to 1947, and for the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

, from 1951 to 1959. Tucci led his tango orchestra in numerous RCA recordings, including “My Buenos Aires” in 1958. He retired from RCA Victor in 1964. In 1969, Tucci wrote a reflection on Gardel's last days, ''Gardel en Nueva York''. He lived out his own final years in his

Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southe ...

home. He died during a visit to Buenos Aires in 1973 and was buried in New York.Clara Koser blog: Carlos Gardel y John Reinhardt
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References

External links

*
''Record albums - Terig Tucci y su Orquesta de la Columbia Broadcasting System'' - Performances by Terig Tucci on archive.org
Argentine composers Argentine pianists Male pianists Argentine violinists Argentine people of Italian descent American people of Argentine descent People from Buenos Aires 1897 births 1973 deaths 20th-century composers 20th-century pianists 20th-century violinists {{Argentina-composer-stub