Gerardo Gandini (

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

(Argentina), October 16, 1936 –

, March 22, 2013) was a

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

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 def ...

, and

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

, 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 Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical music, 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography G ...

, and piano with Roberto Caamaño, Pía Sebastiani, and

Yvonne Loriod Yvonne Louise Georgette Loriod-Messiaen (; 20 January 1924 – 17 May 2010) was a French pianist, teacher, and composer, and the second wife of composer Olivier Messiaen. Her sister was the Ondes Martenot player Jeanne Loriod. Biography Loriod ...

. He was

Astor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fr ...

's pianist in the Sexteto Nuevo Tango formed in 1989.

Biography

Gandini was a professor at the Instituto Di Tella (Buenos Aires),

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

(

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina The Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (), also known as Catholic University of Argentina (; UCA), is a private university in Argentina with campuses in the cities of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Rosario, Paraná, Mendoza and Pergamino. The ...

Gilardo Gilardi Conservatory of Music Gilardo Gilardi Conservarory of Music (Conservatorio de Música Gilardo Gilardi) is a music conservatory in La Plata, Argentina. Founded as ''Conservatorio de Música y Arte Escénico'' (Conservatory of Music and Scenic Art) on 18 May 1949, this te ...

(

La Plata, Argentina La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...

), and

National University of La Plata The National University of La Plata (, UNLP) is a national public research university located in the city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It has over 90,000 regular students, 10,000 teaching staff, 17 departments and 10 ...

. He was also in charge of contemporary music courses at the Fundación San Telmo/

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

in Buenos Aires and was in charge of one of the composition workshops at the Fundación Antorchas (Argentina). Gandini has been the musical director of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, musical director of the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón () is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acoustics expert Leo Beranek among leadin ...

, 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,

's last sextet.

Awards

Gerardo Gandini has received numerous national and international awards: * First prize in the Freedom of Culture Conference (Rome, 1962) * Grant from the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

government (1966) *

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

(1982) *

Molière Award The Les Molière is the national theatre award of France and it recognises achievement of French theatre each year. The awards are considered the highest honour for productions and performances. Presided and decided by the ''Association profess ...

in the music for theatre category (1977) * City Prize for Composition (Buenos Aires, 1960) *

Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

of the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

(1998), for the soundtrack of the film ''La nube'' he Cloudby

Fernando Solanas Fernando Ezequiel "Pino" Solanas (16 February 1936 – 6 November 2020) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter, Film score, score composer and politician. His films include; ''The Hour of the Furnaces, La hora de los hornos (The Hour of the ...

. * National Music Prize of Argentina (1996), for the opera ''La ciudad ausente'' he Absent City* Lifetime Achievement Award from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

(Argentina, 1996) *

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from any ...

on 2004 *

Konex Award Konex Foundation Awards, or simply Konex Awards, are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation honouring Argentine cultural personalities. History and purpose Konex Awards are granted by the Konex Foundation, created in 1980 in Argentina. The p ...

– Honorary Mention (2005) for his fundamental contributions to popular Argentine music * VIII

Tomás Luis de Victoria Tomás Luis de Victoria (sometimes Italianised as ''da Vittoria''; ) was the most famous Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Orlande de Lassus as among the principal composers of the late Re ...

Prize, (March 13, 2008), considered the equivalent to the

Miguel de Cervantes Prize The Miguel de Cervantes Prize () is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' calls it "most prestigious and remunerative award given for Spanish-languag ...

for classical music. * Platinum

(2009) 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'' he Passion of Buster Keaton(1978), libretto by

Rafael Alberti Rafael Alberti Merello (16 December 1902 – 28 October 1999) was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27. He is considered one of the greatest literary figures of the so-called ''Silver Age'' of Spanish Literature, and he won numer ...

: one-act chamber opera for baritone with chamber ensemble, jazz quintet, puppets, and soundtrack * ''Espejismos II (La muerte y la doncella)'' irages II (Death and the Maiden)(1987): chamber opera for two sopranos, two mezzo-sopranos, two ballet dancers, and chamber ensemble * ''La casa sin sosiego'' he Restless House(1992), libretto by

Griselda Gambaro Griselda Gambaro (born 24 July 1928) is an Argentine writer, whose novels, plays, short stories, story tales, essays and novels for teenagers often concern the political violence in her home country that would develop into the Dirty War. One recu ...

: chamber opera in six scenes for two sopranos, two mezzo-sopranos, contralto, tenor, six actors, and chamber orchestra * ''La ciudad ausente'' he Absent City(1995), libretto by Ricardo Piglia: opera in two acts * ''Liederkreis (una ópera sobre

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

)'' iederkreis (An Opera about Schumann)(2000), libretto by Alejandro Tantanian

Works for orchestra

* ''Variaciones para orquesta'' (1962), for harp, piano, percussion, timbales, celesta, xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, and strings (16'). Commissioned by ESSO Argentina, City Prize for Composition of Buenos Aires, premiered by the

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Buffalo, New York led by Music Director JoAnn Falletta. Its primary performing venue is Kleinhans Music Hall, which is a National Historic Landmark. Each season it ...

, directed by Richard Dufallo during the Interamerican Music Festival in Washington (1965) * ''Cadencias'' (1967), for harp, piano, percussion, and strings (6'), premiered by the Academia Santa Cecilia orchestra, directed by Daniele Paris, Academia Nacional de Santa Cecilia, Rome (1967) * ''Laberynthus Johannes'' (1973), for orchestra divided in three groups: clavecin, harp, marimba, piano, xylophone, tenor saxophone, drums, percussion, and strings (15'), premiered by the Buenos Aires Philharmonic orchestra, directed by Antonio Tauriello in the

(1973) * ''Soria moria'' (1974), for string orchestra made up of four solo violins, a string quartet, and a string trio (viola, cello, and contrabass) (8'). Recorded on disc. Published by ''Melodie Zurich''. Premiered by the

Camerata Bariloche The Camerata Bariloche is a chamber music ensemble from Argentina, founded in 1967. The ensemble has achieved international recognition for excellence. Origins The Camerata was formed by musician Alberto Lysy, who organized the Camping Musica ...

on their European tour (1974) * ''... E sarà'' (1976), five pieces for orchestra: ''Homenaje a

Girolamo Frescobaldi Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi (; also Gerolamo, Girolimo, and Geronimo Alissandro; September 15831 March 1643) was an Italian composer and virtuoso keyboard player. Born in the Duchy of Ferrara, he was one of the most important composers of ke ...

'', ''Círculos sobre "L'enharmonique"'', ''Planh'', ''Sarabande et Double'', and ''Homenaje a

Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (26 October 1685 – 23 July 1757) was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque music, Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical peri ...

'', for English horn, harp, percussion, solo violin, and strings (20'). Premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra, directed by Antonio Tauriello, Teatro Cervantes (August 1976) * ''Eusebius'' (1984–85), 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 (12'). Premiered by the Buenos Aires Philharmonic orchestra, directed by Juan Pablo Izquierdo, Teatro Colón (September 1985) * ''Música ficción III'' (1990), three pieces for chamber orchestra: ''Neobarroco'', ''Pasos (en la nieve)'' and ''Reescritura y continuación de una pieza de Arnold Schoenberg'', for voice, percussion, piano, celesta, harmonica, strings ( 12’). Premiered by the Contemporary Music Studio, directed by Gerardo Gandini,

(September 1990) * ''Mozartvariationen'' (1991) for voice, percussion, piano, and strings (15’), premiered at the

(1991) * ''Estudios para descripción de la luna'' (1993), for chamber orchestra, percussion, and piano (12'), premiered by the Fundación Omega Seguros Sinfonietta, directed by Gerardo Gandini, Teatro General San Martín (1994)

Filmography

;Music * '' Allá lejos y hace tiempo'' ar Away and Long Ago(1978) dir.

Manuel Antín Manuel Antín (February 27, 1926 – September 5, 2024) was an Argentine film director and screenwriter. Life and career Manuel Antín was born in Las Palmas, Chaco Province, in 1926. He first wrote for Argentine television in 1956 and made ...

References

External links

Invitación a conocer a Gerardo Gandini
'' ElPezDigital'', April 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gandini, Gerardo 1936 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Argentine composers 20th-century pianists 20th-century Argentine conductors (music) 20th-century Argentine male musicians Argentine composers Argentine pianists Male conductors (music) Argentine people of Italian descent Male composers Argentine male pianists Musicians from Buenos Aires Tango musicians Juilliard School faculty Academic staff of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina Academic staff of the National University of La Plata