Roberto Firpo
Roberto Firpo (May 10, 1884 – June 14, 1969) was an Argentine tango pianist, composer, and leader. Firpo was among the first innovators of the classic tango music genre. He was the establisher of the piano in the tango orchestra. Firpo was born in the Flores district of Buenos Aires, where his father owned a grocery store. Firpo left school at 15 to work with his father and then several other companies, he eventually saved 200 Pesos (around US$100, at the time) to buy his first piano. Around 1903 he began to have lessons with one of the greats of the period, Alfredo Bevilacqua. In 1907 he began composing and performing. In 1913, at the age of 29, he formed his first orchestra that played the hits "Argañaraz", "Sentimiento criollo", "De pura cepa", and "Marejada" that year. In 1914 classic tango "Alma de bohemio" materialized and presented; one of his most admired work until today. During his career Firpo played in most of the famous Buenos Aires tango venues such as the Armenonville, El tambito, Palais de Glace, Bar Iglesias, L’Abbaye, Teatro Buenos Aires, Teatro Nacional, Salón San Martín and Colonia Italiana. Many famous musicians passed through his various orchestras including the bandoneonist Pedro Maffia, the violinist Elvino Vardaro, Cayetano Puglisi, Juan Guido, Luis Cosenza and Carlos García. His quartet was one of his most famous ensembles and he wrote many tangos. He was one of the few tangueros to play in a cafe in Avenida de Mayo in Buenos Aires and he was the first person to play the tango La Cumparsita in the cafe La Giralda in Montevideo, Uruguay. Firpo in 1930 gave up his tango career for a short while, to try his hand at cattle ranching, but he was forced to return to tango when the Paraná river's floods destroyed his livestock, and after that (trying to recover from the losses and trying his luck) he lost the rest of his fortune on the stock market. Firpo retired in 1959 and died on June 14, 1969. |
Birth and Death Data: Born May 10, 1884 (Buenos Aires), Died June 14, 1969
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1912 - 1941
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 54 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | B-14449 | 10-in. | 2/13/1914 | Argañarez | Castle House Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-15926 | 10-in. | 4/22/1915 | Didi | Orquesta Argentina de Ferrer | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-15927 | 10-in. | 4/22/1915 | De mi flor | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-15930 | 10-in. | 4/22/1915 | Sentimiento criollo | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-15931 | 10-in. | 4/22/1915 | Una partida | Orquesta Argentina de Ferrer | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-15932 | 10-in. | 4/22/1915 | Toda la vida | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-15933 | 10-in. | 4/22/1915 | Marejada | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-15935 | 10-in. | 4/22/1915 | Noche de farra | Orquesta Argentina de Ferrer | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-15936 | 10-in. | 4/22/1915 | Los Güevara | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-16132 | 10-in. | 6/25/1915 | Curda completa | Orquesta Argentina de Ferrer | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-16133 | 10-in. | 6/25/1915 | Alma de Bohemio | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-16134 | 10-in. | 6/25/1915 | El bisturí | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-16135 | 10-in. | 6/25/1915 | Barógrafo | Orquesta Argentina de Ferrer | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-16139 | 10-in. | 6/25/1915 | Indiecita | Orquesta Argentina de Ferrer [i.e., Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino] | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-16192 | 10-in. | 7/9/1915 | El gallito | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-16193 | 10-in. | 7/9/1915 | El apronte | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-16211 | 10-in. | 7/16/1915 | De madrugada | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-16212 | 10-in. | 7/16/1915 | Noches de frío | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-16214 | 10-in. | 7/16/1915 | Recordando el pasado | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-16663 | 10-in. | 10/13/1915 | Tallada | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | B-16668 | 10-in. | 10/15/1915 | Indio, sácale el pelo | Orquesta King [i.e., Victor Orchestra] | Orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-16669 | 10-in. | 10/15/1915 | El amanecer | Victor Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-18673 | 10-in. | 11/15/1916 | Noche calurosa | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quartet | composer | |
Victor | B-19572 | 10-in. | 4/10/1917 | Montevideo | Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino | Instrumental quintet | composer | |
Victor | BAVE-44560 | 10-in. | Summer 1929 | Alma de bohemio | Orquesta Típica Victor | Instrumental ensemble | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Firpo, Roberto," accessed September 3, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/111106.
Firpo, Roberto. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved September 3, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/111106.
"Firpo, Roberto." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 3 September 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Roberto Firpo
Discogs: Roberto Firpo
RISM: Roberto Firpo
IMDb: Roberto Firpo
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Firpo, Roberto, 1884-1969 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no98093611
Wikidata: Roberto Firpo - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q517143
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/43920501
MusicBrainz: Roberto Firpo - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/af9b9909-23ec-42cc-a386-338d157ca5a4
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.