Argentine Music Beyond Tango at Americas Society

On October 4, Music of the Americas presented Argentine composer and pianist Guillermo Zarba and guitarist Hugo Romero in a program centered on Argentina’s folk music. The event explored music rooted in Argentine music from the upbeat gato, as heard in Zarba’s En una cuerda olivdada to the milonga of Omar Moreno Palacios’s Sencillito y de alpargatas. The musical selections gave the audience the sense that Argentina’s musical heritage extends far beyond tango. 

Born in Entre Rios, Zarba studied piano and composition in his native province and in Buenos Aires. He has received numerous awards from institutions including the Asociación de Cronistas del Espectáculo. He has lectured on Argentine folk music at the Universidad Nacional de Entre Rios and in Brazil, and performed in the most important concert halls in Buenos Aires and throughout Argentina, as well as in Brazil and Europe. His latest recording, Salto Grande, from which many of Friday’s pieces were taken, was well received by the critics and features an all-star cast of Argentine jazz and folk musicians.

Romero served as Zarba’s musical partner for the evening. He has toured Europe, Japan, and Brazil with a variety of musicians, and participated in numerous recordings, including the solo part in the Camerata Bariloche’s recording of the Concierto para Bandoneón, Guitarra y Orquesta de Cuerdas by Astor Piazzolla. He has performed in the most important festivals in Argentina and appeared in on-stage ensembles at the Teatro Colón. He studied with Abel Carlevaro and currently teaches tango guitar and tango ensemble at the Escuela de Música Popular de Avellaneda, where he was the director of the tango area of study.