LUNCHBREAK CONCERT
In association with SOUND
DUQUESA
FABIANA GALANTE: Piano
LUIS CONDE: Bass Clarinet, Clarinet and Soprano Sax 
COWDRAY HALL
Thursday, 23 October 2014 

SOUND celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Its regular collaboration with many Aberdeen and North East concert promoters includes the ever popular Lunchbreak Series. Lunchbreak will continue as usual in autumn to host a large variety of performances as an important contribution to the current programme. The theme of this year’s Festival is: new approaches to traditional music, and with Dance Live, the Festival of Contemporary Dance still running, a theme of dance is highlighted as well. 
It was thoroughly appropriate that the opening performance this year should have been given by Duquesa: pianist Fabiana Galante with clarinet and saxophone virtuoso Luis Conde renowned for their explorations of new approaches to the world of Tango, something that reflects the themes of this year’s festival to perfection. 
In the first two pieces in their programme, Sur, and Perdacito de cielo, Luis Conde played bass clarinet, not an instrument that often features in the spotlight. Conde’s use of the full range of the instrument tended to suggest that perhaps two or even more instruments were involved. Composers tend to favour the plummy depths of the bass clarinet using it as just a subtle flavouring for the wind section along with other instruments but today Luis Conde gave it its place in the sun. Fabiana Galante’s rich rhythmic piano playing supplied the sensual heartbeat of the tango to perfection.
The bass clarinet was celebrated even further this time as a solo instrument in Juan Maria Solare’s composition, Quintaesencia-Tulonga, again exploring the full range of the instrument to amazingly fine effect.
Tinta Roja played as a piano solo by Fabiana Galante showed how the piano could capture the full range of the tango experience, rhythm, harmony and melody.
One of the great heroes of Tango is the singer and composer Carlos Gardel who was actually born in France. One of his most celebrated pieces is Por una Cabeza which in today’s performance opened with a stunning clarinet cadenza played by Luis Conde. 
Flor de Lino also featured the clarinet in this attractive song-like piece before Fabiana Galante delighted us with another Carlos Gardel classic, Soledad, in a marvellously colourful and expressive solo performance that captured the often sad or wistful sensations of tango music.
Composer Eliseo Tapia is a player of the bandoneon, a member of the accordion family and reputed to be one of the most difficult instruments to play and he will be taking part later in the Sound Festival. His composition Malena featured the most 
magnificent virtuoso soprano sax playing by Luis Conde including the use of the piano strings to give an echo effect when the bell of the sax was aimed at the strings inside the piano. It was here that I felt the true spirit of SOUND was alive back in the Hall. Luis Conde amazed us with another special solo performance, this time on soprano sax. El porteňito concluded with a passage of advanced technique “click” effects on the sax.
The Soul that sings, was an adventurous modern piece with repetitive advanced chord sequences on piano and surprisingly soaring playing on bass clarinet once again. 
To conclude a thoroughly fascinating programme, the duo played a tango fusion piece which had a soft jazz like feel about it: another dip of the toe into an exotic musical world for the Lunchbreak Concert Series and a great opening explosion of talent for the tenth Sound Festival.
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“ Duquesa “ , a refined expression for “two “ in lunfardo, Buenos Aires characteristic slang, is an ecclectic tango duo created by Fabiana Galante (piano) and Luis Conde (bass clarinet , clarinet and soprano sax ). This is not only due to the fact that tango has very few examples of this kind of instrumental combination but to the performers`s backgrounds as well. 
Trained and influenced mostly by classical contemporary music and sound art ,  “Duquesa “ becomes a creative challenge both for the duo and the audience.
Its repertoire includes most reknowned Argentinian traditional tango composers, such as 92 years old pianist and composer Horacio Salgán, altogether with original contemporary arrangements and compositions by Eliseo Tapia , Juan María Solare and Juan “Pollo “ Raffo “.

Luis Conde CV
Luis Conde was born in Buenos Aires in 1965. He  has developed an ecclectic musical career as a contemporary woodwind player, improviser, performer, educator and experimental music organiser.
In the mid 90´s he formed with Diego Chamy and Gabriel Paiuk  one of the first pure improvisation groups in Argentina .  In  year 2001 “Trío de Improvisación” went on tour to Europe  and  performed at Festival Densitees, ImproIBA and Roulette NY. 
Since then he is commited in a wide range of proyects that involve new approaches on woodwind extended techniques working with composers, dancers and multimedia artists.
Due to the fact that there is a young but increasingly growing improvised/experimental tradition in Argentina, he has exchanged many experiences with international artists such as Axel Dorner, Sabu Toyozumi, John Russell, Jacques Demierre, Theo Nabitch, Agustí Fernández, Frode Gjerstad and Wade Matthews.  This has led him to create networks between the local scene and musicians from  other South American countries ( Chile and Brazil)
Currently he teaches young composers at UNTREF (Tres de Febrero National University). His lessons include ear training, musical theory and the practice of non idiomatic improvisation.
Also he was awarded with a grant from FNA (National Arts Funding) to play and investigate on new compositional approaches, mixing improvisation and written music from both young and renowned Argentinian composers such as Marcelo Toledo, Carlos Mastropietro and Fernando Maglia.

Releases:
Detrás de Toda Ballena, Trío de Improvisación, reeds-sakuhachi/ piano/percussion with Gabriel Paiuk and Diego Chamy. 2001. Música Actual Nº 001.
El Ruido en los Ojos, clarinets/10 string guitar duo with Alcides Larrosa. 2004. Arte Independiente Nº 001.
Maquinazen, baritone sax, bass clarinet/double bass duo with Adrián Fanello. 2008. No Seso Records Nº 019.
Doble Cuarteto, prepared saxes/prepared guitar octet. 2009. Jardinista Recs .
Destructura I, baritone and bass clarinet /non prepared guitar/ contrabass clarinet trío with Fernando Perales and Theo Nabitch.2010. Jardinista Recs .
Ácido Canario IV,experimental rock quintet. 2013. No Seso Records Nº 038.

Fabiana Galante CV
Fabiana Galante, pianist and sound artist from Buenos Aires, her work ranges from solo recitals, chamber music and a wide range of multimedia projects with dancers such as internationally acclaimed Japanese Butoh dance creator Kazuo Ohno and Anna Krzystek (England), performers and filmmakers such as Dudendance Theatre Company to experimental and improvised music with new technologies (Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Scotland and Germany)
In 2007 Fabiana was commissioned by visual artist Andrea Fasani to create sound for her installation “30”. The work is a large- scale ongoing project based on the theme of memory and the “disappeared” (Argentinian people who were killed by the military during the last dictatorship). The work was shown at the emblematic political square Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires.
Since then to the present she is the curator of a monthly season called “Instantes Sonoros “ (“Instant Sounds”). Each year an average of ninety significant national and international artists are invited to play concerts of experimental, improvised and electronic music, including sound art and performance.
From 2008 to the present she has been performing as part of the “Buque Factoría “ artists group (“Trading ship”) .The project ́s aim is to explore and manipulate old record players and “prepared” turntables with both clay and LP records improvising in real time. She ́s also member of “Resplandecencias “ trio ( “Shining “ ) for flute, clarinet and prepared piano.
She has recorded a solo work for piano voice and percussion and has won two grants.
Projects in Scotland have included piano recitals at Cottiers and Tramway Theatres in Glasgow, Dundee and St. Andrew’s Universities and Northern College in Aberdeen, amongst others. She was invited to do a residency to create experimental music by Deveron Arts Foundation. She performed with reknowned Scottish fiddler Paul Anderson at the Halloween Festival and for BBC Radio. She was also invited to perform a solo recital at ” Sound “Festival in Aberdeen ( 2006 ) , premiering works by South American contemporary composers.
Fabiana’s teaching experience ranges from one to one piano tuition at Fine Arts University in La Plata, Junior School at RSAMD and Edinburgh City Broughton School to extensive work with groups. She has given several workshops on improvised music and sound creation for trained musicians and created the educational project “Music from Scratch”, a specially designed workshop for non- musicians. Her aim is to encourage children, non -musicians and musicians to create work and develop musical skills both as individuals and as a team.
Currently Fabiana teaches at UNTREF (Tres de Febrero University ) and works on several projects with musicians, improvisers, composers and multidisciplinary artists.



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