Cacho Tirao, 66; Argentine guitar virtuoso
WASHINGTON -- Cacho Tirao, 66, an Argentine guitar virtuoso whose wide travels made him one of his country's leading musical ambassadors, died May 30 at Argerich Hospital in Buenos Aires after a stroke.
A radio star as a child, Mr. Tirao rose to greater prominence as a teenager as he won important engagements as a soloist.
His most enduring early association was with the Astor Piazzolla Quintet, which he joined in the late 1960s. A signature of his playing was the unpredictable and exciting chord changes encouraged by Piazzolla, a modern tango composer, bandleader, and bandoneon player whom Mr. Tirao regarded as a musical mentor.
During a career that featured him on 36 records as a solo artist, Mr. Tirao remained exceedingly versatile. He shifted among tango, jazz, samba, folklore, classical, pop, and Jewish music, though his pop orchestration of "Hava Nagila" arguably lacked the warmth he tried to cultivate after some early critics accused him of being a brilliant but cold player.
In performance, he enjoyed showing off. He made technically tricky pieces, such as the left-handed dazzler "Estudio Para la Mano Izquierda," seem as easy as "Chopsticks."
As a composer, Mr. Tirao was responsible for numerous tangos, milongas, and sambas. His most remembered works include "Le Petit Tango," "Tercer Tiempo," and "Teresa, Mi Renacer." The last, named in honor of his wife, loosely translated means "Teresa, you are my renewal." He also wrote the larger-scale composition "Conciertango Buenos Aires" for guitar and orchestra.
Oscar Emilio Tirao was born in Berazategui, in Buenos Aires Province. He learned guitar at 4 from his father, a classical guitarist, who along with Andres Segovia became one of his early influences.
Mr. Tirao began appearing on the radio at age 6 and a few years later made his debut as a concert performer. By 16, he was working as a soloist with the orchestra of the Teatro Argentino de la Plata, a theater in the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, and with the popular jazz and tango bandleader Rene Cospito.
As his career progressed, Mr. Tirao backed an array of vocalists, including visiting Americans Josephine Baker and George Maharis. He also performed with Argentine pianist and bandleader Osvaldo Tarantino, as well as bandoneon player Rodolfo Mederos before winning a three-year engagement with Piazzolla.
With Piazzolla's blessing, Mr. Tirao left the quintet to work as a soloist, and Piazzolla helped write some of his early arrangements. After Mr. Tirao's debut album as a soloist, "Mi Guitarra, Tu y Yo" (1971), he went on to collaborate with, among others, Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía, who became of one his closest friends.
Mr. Tirao became a fixture on Argentine television and began a tireless schedule of concerts around the world. He developed a broad repertoire of music and expertise on stringed instruments, including banjo, lute, and charango.
