Eduardo Arolas (February 24, 1892 – September 29, 1924) 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, s ...

tango bandoneon player, leader and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. Arolas first learned to play the guitar before learning the bandoneon which became his instrument of choice. His nickname was ''El Tigre del bandoneón'' (the tiger of the bandoneon). Arolas composed his first tango in 1909 before he could even read or write music. He went on to play with such early masters as

Agustín Bardi Agustin Bardi (August 13, 1884 – April 21, 1941) was an Argentina, Argentine Argentine Tango, Tango pianist, violinist, and composer. Bardi was born in Las Flores, Buenos Aires, Las Flores district of Buenos Aires and was couched in music from a ...

and Roberto Firpo. In 1917 Arolas moved to

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

where he settled, he played a number of times at the Teatro Casino. From 1920 he resided mainly in Paris where he died alone and alcoholic in 1924.

Legacy

Arolas is regarded as one of the early masters that helped to define the future of tango music in Argentina. He was avant-garde in his composition and often utilised unconventional instruments such as the saxophone violoncello and the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

. His most famous works include Lágrimas, La cachila, El Marne and Viborita.

External links

Eduardo Arolas
on todotango.com
Eduardo Arolas
on tango.info

References

1892 births 1924 deaths Musicians from Buenos Aires Argentine emigrants to Uruguay Argentine tango musicians Place of birth missing Musicians from Montevideo Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery {{Argentina-musician-stub