Sergio Massardo piano
Sergio Massardo was born in Santiago de Chile in 1979. He started piano lessons at the age of nine with professor Vivien Wurman whom he continued to study with for many years. When he was nineteen he gave up architecture (which he had begun studying one year earlier) and decided to dedicate his life to music, enrolling at Santiago’s Instituto Profesional Escuela Moderna de Música where he graduated in 2004. Later he continued his music studies at Indiana University under the tutelage of Reiko Neriki, completing a Master’s in Music and a Performance diploma.
Sergio has been winner as a soloist in the competition, Performance of Music from Spain and Latin America, held at Indiana University in 2005. He obtained the same prize with Malena Tango Quintet in the following year’s competition. He has performed solo and chamber music in Chile and several US cities.
Being a Latin American musician, I think that I have an important mission helping to promote this music. The recording of this CD gave me not only the chance to do that, but also to have the joy of playing this wonderful music with great friends. Our interpretation captures the essence of Piazzolla’s music and at the same time, transmits the feelings of five different personalities speaking in their own way.
Jonathan Zwi guitar
Originally a violinist, Jonathan Zwi found a passion for the classical guitar when he began his undergraduate studies at Indiana University-Bloomington where he completed his Bachelor of Music in Classical Guitar Performance under the direction of Julio Ribeiro and Ernesto Bitetti. In addition to his degree in music, Jonathan also received degrees in Philosophy and Cognitive Science.
In June of 2007, he moved to Brazil to focus on the guitar and re-identify with his heritage and in July of 2007 won first place in the BRAVIO Music Festival’s 1st Eustáquio Grilo National Guitar Competition. As part of his award he toured Brazil, performing concerts in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia in July of 2008.
From August 2007 to May 2008, Jonathan was a student at the School of Music at the Federal University of Bahia under the guidance of Costa Rican guitarist, Mario Ulloa. He was also enrolled in the University’s School of Fine Arts and has shown his work in various exhibitions in galleries around Salvador, Bahia.
Jonathan is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in music at the Peabody Conservatory.
Piazzolla’s music allows me to indulge in what it means to be a musician, in what it means to be an artist and, ultimately, in what it means to be human. This music serves as a bridge to seemingly ineffable and tremendously powerful emotions that lay at the center of our identities as emotive beings. More than just beautiful music, it is a reflection of who we are.
Michael Mendelson contrabass
Michael Mendelson was born in Berkeley, California in 1983. As a young child, he displayed an exceptional gift for chess and mathematics, but by the age of 11 he had chosen music as his primary focus of study. He began his career at the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, and by the age of 17, he won his first competition and debuted as a soloist with the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra in 2000. Since that time he has become a sought-after orchestral musician appearing all over the world, and was recently awarded an orchestral Fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival in 2007. He completed his Bachelor of Music degree at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2008, under the tutelage of Bruce Bransby.
Although my roots are in classical music, I like many different kinds of music stretching from Progressive Rock to the stylized Tango of Astor Piazzolla. This appreciation for diverse styles of music, has allowed me to work closely with many great musicians, including the members of the Malena Tango Quintet. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to share this music with such a talented group of people.
Frederieke Saeijs violin
Frederieke Saeijs received her Master's in 2004 from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, The Netherlands where she continues to call home. In addition, she has studied at the Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana with Mauricio Fuks. From here she received her Performer and Artist Diplomas as well as her Performance Certificate, in 2007-08.
Frederieke is an accomplished performer who has won numerous prizes including the Prinses Christina Concours, Elizabeth Everts Prize and the Georges Enescu International Violin Competition. She has performed or received invitations to perform, across Europe and around the world. Solo performances with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestre National de France are just a few of the highlights of her young but stellar career.
Currently she is the Artist in Residence in the Dr. Anton Philipszaal and the Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague.
Photo by Marco Borggreve
Valeriano Fernandez bandoneon
Self-taught Valeriano Fernandez has been a music lover all his life. After discovering the music of Astor Piazzolla in the summer of 2002 he bought his first bandoneon the consecutive year and began a journey that is now leading him to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he is continuing to study bandoneon with a private teacher. Val plans to spend half of the year in Hawai‘i, his primary residence, and the other half in South America where he will be able to study and quench his thirst for the music of Latin America.
My life has been rich but complicated. Piazzolla’s music is always full of emotions and tension which, in many instances, never get resolved. It is very much like my life. It is a constant fight. A constant climb to chaos. I feel very fortunate to have recorded this CD with great musicians which I can now also call my friends.
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