Pedro Mario Maffia (August 28, 1899 – October 16, 1967) was an

Argentine tango Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a Time signature, or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in pat ...

bandoneon The bandoneon () or bandonion is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, it is held between the hands, and played ...

ist,

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

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 teacher, as well as starring in several tango films.

Early years

He was born in the

Balvanera Balvanera is a Barrios of Buenos Aires, barrio or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Origin of name and alternative names The official name, Balvanera, is the name of the ''parroquia'' (parish) centered around the church of ''Nuestra Seño ...

neighborhood of

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 ...

, the son of Italian immigrants Angelo V. Maffia and Luisa Spinelli from

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

. Maffia had a hard upbringing; he was beaten with a chain by his father and lived in dire poverty. At the age of eleven, he studied bandoneon under the teacher Pepín Piazza. At the age of fifteen, he roamed the cafés of Villa Crespo and had already composed the tango ''Cornetín''. His first musical studies were in piano. Later, he would create the first bandoneon study method. At sixteen, he debuted at the Iglesias bar on Corrientes Street, also playing in obscure brothels in the province of Buenos Aires, performing for tips (since he was underage at the time, and frequently ran away from home—usually to go to the port of Bahía Blanca, in the province of Buenos Aires). His father Angelo and mother Luisa would involve the police so that he would be returned home. He eventually ran away from home to live in the town of

Punta Alta Punta Alta is a city in Argentina, about 25 kilometers southeast of Bahía Blanca. It has a population of 57,293. It is the capital ("cabecera") of the Coronel Rosales Partido. It was founded on 2 July 1898. The city is located near the Atlant ...

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

Professional career

José Ricardo, guitarist of the Gardel-Razzano duo, heard him in a café in Punta Alta and introduced him to

Roberto Firpo Roberto Firpo (May 10, 1884June 14, 1969) was an Argentine tango pianist, composer, and leader. Firpo was among the first innovators of the classic tango music genre. He was the establisher of the piano in the tango orchestra. Firpo was born in ...

, who brought him into his orchestra. Since his interpretative style did not suit Firpo’s orchestra, Maffia eventually parted ways with it. Due to his friendship with

Julio de Caro Julio de Caro (December 11, 1899March 11, 1980) was an Argentine composer, musician, and conductor prominent in the Tango genre. Life and work His father opened a conservatory in the San Telmo district, in 1913, soon becoming one of the city's ...

, he joined him to form the De Caro Sextet (named so because De Caro was the one who best handled the bookings). He also left this sextet. In 1923, he created his own orchestra, accompanied by

Ignacio Corsini Andrea "Ignacio" Corsini (February 13, 1891 – July 26, 1967) was an Italian-born Argentine folklore and tango musician. Life and work Andrea Corsini, such his real name, was born in Troina, a village in the Enna Province of Sicily, in 1891. He w ...

at the Apolo Theater; in 1926, he consolidated his own group, the Pedro Maffia Sextet, with

Osvaldo Pugliese Osvaldo Pedro Pugliese (December 2, 1905 – July 25, 1995) was an Argentine tango musician. He developed dramatic arrangements that retained strong elements of the walking beat of salon tango but also heralded the development of concert-style ...

as the pianist. Maffia is remembered as a pioneer of the bandoneon and a great stylist. He was one of the first to play the instrument

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

. He had a relaxed playing style and an inventiveness for misplaced accents and nuances. Maffia starred in a number of tango films including ''

¡Tango! ''¡Tango!'' is a 1933 Argentine musical romance film, the first film to be made in Argentina using optical sound technology (but not the first sound film.) Many existing stars of the Argentine stage and radio appeared in the film, but its success ...

'' (1933), ''

Canillita ''Canillita'' is a 1936 Argentine musical film directed and written by Lisandro de la Tea and Manuel Roneima and starring Amanda Ledesma (pictured). The film premiered on 26 March 1936 in Buenos Aires during the Golden Age of Argentine cinema. C ...

'' (1936) and '' Fueye querido'' (1966). He also worked as a music teacher, and wrote an important method of teaching the

. The bandoneonist

Aníbal Troilo Aníbal Carmelo Troilo (11 July 1914 – 18 May 1975), also known as Pichuco, was an Argentine tango musician. Troilo was a bandoneon player, composer, arranger, and bandleader in Argentina. His orquesta típica was among the most popular wit ...

dedicated a song to him entitled ''A Pedro Maffia''. He died on 16 October 1967, at the age of 68, in Buenos Aires.

As a composer

Some of his most famous tangos: * ''Taconeando'' * ''La mariposa'' * ''Amurado'', composed with

Pedro Laurenz Pedro Laurenz (born Pedro Blanco Acosta) was a bandoneon player, Music director, director and composer of Argentina, Argentine Tango (music), tango music. He was born on October 10, 1902, and died on July 7, 1972. Pedro was born into a musical ...

* ''Ventarrón''

Films

* 1933: ''

'', the first Argentine sound film. * 1936: ''

''. * 1936: ''Sombras porteñas'', directed by

Daniel Tinayre Daniel Tinayre (14 September 1910 – 24 October 1994) was a French-born Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer notable for his work during the Golden Age of Argentine cinema, classical era of Argentine cinema (1930s–1950s) a ...

. * 1939: ''La canción que tú cantabas'', directed by Miguel Mileo. * 1942: ''Sinfonía argentina'', directed by Jacques Constant.

References

External links

*
Pedro Maffia
at

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

.
Pedro Maffia
at tango.info {{DEFAULTSORT:Maffia, Pedro 1899 births 1967 deaths Tango musicians Argentine musicians Male tango film actors Argentine people of Italian descent Musicians from Buenos Aires 20th-century Argentine male actors Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery