The festival will feature 10 tangos by the renowned, innovative Argentine composer. Nine of these Piazzolla tangos were arranged for a piano trio (piano, cello, and violin) by “the famous José Bragato, a personal friend of Piazzolla,” said Elmira Darvarova, the concert violinist in the program and director of the festival.
Bragato was a “cellist for Piazzolla’s orchestra, who collaborated with Piazzolla to bring Argentine tango music from the local dance bars to the world concert stages,” she explained.
Piazzolla died in 1992, but José Bragato, now 95, still writes music every day.
The links in the chain of friendship continue. Cellist Christine Walevska, who will be also playing in the series, is a lifelong friend of Bragato.
According to Walevska’s blog at the New York Chamber Music Festival site, she first met José Bragato in 1967 during her performances at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Bragato, the principal cellist of the Philharmonic Orchestra at the time, so admired her cello playing that he said, “I will be your lifelong friend and always at your disposal.”
It is not surprising, then, that Ms. Walevska was the first person to whom Mr. Bragato gave all of his piano trio arrangements of the Piazzolla tangos. 
Another present from Bragato will appear in the concert series. As Walevska writes, “In 1983, when I was leaving Argentina for a concert tour of Europe, he presented me with his composition ‘Milontan,’ which he had composed in one night for me to be played on my European tour.”
In fact, “Milontan” was both “written for and dedicated to Christine. Her performance on Sept. 11 will present its American premiere,” Darvarova said.
“The title suggests the rhythms of milonga and tango. Being an excellent cellist himself, Bragato knows so well how to write for the instrument. He … keeps sending me his manuscripts, which I look forward to performing,” Walevska wrote.
“During the preparation for this concert, we called José Bragato numerous times in Buenos Aires from Christine’s apartment, to consult him on some details while rehearsing. It was thrilling to hear his instructions in his own surprisingly youthful voice—it was a great privilege to communicate with the legendary José Bragato,” Darvarova said.
The last of the tangos, called “Michelangelo 70,” was arranged by the pianist Octavio Brunetti, who completes the trio. He is one of the most sought-after tango pianists today and a Grammy Award winner, according to Darvarova.
About the Composer Piazzolla
Piazzolla’s initial contribution to music was to marry classical music and tango, sophistication and passion. His group Octeto Buenos Aires, formed in 1955, began the contemporary age of tango and combined traditional bandoneons with the double bass, cello, piano, and also the electric guitar. This group produced tango without singers or dancers, and created something new—tango chamber music.
In the late 1950s and ’60s, Piazzolla’s New Tango emerged through quintet groups that made important recordings and led Piazzolla to a career that moved him in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s back and forth between classical music, jazz, and rock, but all with his heart centered on the tango.
New York Chamber Music Festival has two different concert programs a day every day, from Sept. 10 to 16, at Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th St.
For more information, see newyorkchambermusicfestival.org
With reporting by Nadia Ghattas
