Legendary Tango composer and pianist Mariano Mores dies at 98.
Pianist, composer and conductor Mariano Mores died today at the age of 98, his grandsons Gabriel and Mariana Fabbiani informed in social networks.
Born Mariano Martínez in Buenos Aires in 1918, he made his professional debut at the age of 14 at Café Vicente on Corrientes Avenue. He created the Mores Trio with two sisters, Margot and Myrna Morales; he and Myrna married in 1943.
Mores had his first Tango hit with his 1939 composition Cuartito azul, so named for the little blue room he rented as a young man. His best known compositions were written with the iconic Tango lyricist Enrique Santos Discépolo; these include Uno (1943), Sin palabras (1946), and Cafetín de Buenos Aires (1948).
While he was considered one of the last surviving old school Tango musicians, Mores is credited with creating the modern tango sextet (organ, piano, bandoneón, electric guitar, keyboard, drums, and bass). Mores was also well known for his interpersonal skills, and was one of the few artists who were not persecuted for their Peronist affiliation after the overthrow of the populist President Juan Perón in 1955.
He later composed extensively for film and television, and in 1963 created a hit theater production, Buenas noches Buenos Aires. His best known stage production in later years was Todo Tango, which toured internationally in 1985. Mores was reunited in 2006 with many of his fellow old school Tango greats in Gustavo Santaolalla's acclaimed documentary, Café de los maestros. He continued to both conduct and perform until age 94 when he handed the baton to his grandson, Gabriel Mores.
Mores lost his wife Myrna two years ago after 71 years of marriage. He died in Buenos Aires today at age 98.
At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/212511/legendary-tango-performer-mariano-mores-dies-at-98
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Mores' ode to Buenos Aires café life, Cafetín de Buenos Aires: