1897, April 14 – BIRTH OF EDGARDO DONATO
Leader, Composer, Violinist (Aries) -Edgardo Donato was a struggling musician and fledging composer of twenty-two years old and he was particularly fond of “Julian” a tango he hed penned off in the middle of the night, half in jest, parodying an orchestra drummer named “Julian”…he offered it to a recording company for twenty pesos but they just did not think it was good enough; he then offered it to one an orchestra leader for fifteen pesos and was refused again…not one to be easily discouraged he decided to publish it on his own account; it would become a big hit two years later when Rosita Quiroga would record it; ninety years later it continues to be played and recorded…Edgardo Donato is of course the composer of the immortal “A Media Luz” which is probably one of the most instantly recognized melodies in the world…interestingly he composed it while he was riding on a tram in Buenos Aires…
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He was notoriously absent-minded and his daughter would recount the story of the day he was on a street car, he became so engrossed in a conversation with an old friend he happened to run into; descended with his friend and several minutes passed before he realized that he had forgotten about his wife back on the tram…he was one of nine children born to Italian immigrants who had come to Buenos Aires by the way of Chile…his father was a musician; a player of both the mandolin and the cello…when Edgardo was still very young, the family moved to Montevideo where his father obtained a position as conductor of a chamber orchestra…at the age of twenty-one he began working with his father in the world of opera wearing a stiff collar and a serious countenance; the real Donato
however had a great sense of humor…the fateful day arrived when, with much trepidation, he mustered the courage to tell his father that he would be joining the Negro Quevedo tango orchestra; it was the beginning of a glorious career…he would record more than 450 pieces including great hits like “Muchacho”, “El Huracan”, “T.B.C.”
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- CLICK HERE – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zWebHXopm0 to see Edgardo Donato conduct one of his great hits “El Huracano”
TODAY IN TANGO ! 