Lothar Hensel (born 14 September 1961) is a German

bandoneon The bandoneon (or bandonion, es, bandoneón) is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, the bandoneon is held be ...

player, composer and arrangeur.

Life and career

Born in

Dormagen Dormagen (; Ripuarian: ''Dormaje'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss. Geography Dormagen is situated between Düsseldorf – Cologne – Mönchengladbach on the western bank of the river Rhine. Division of ...

, studied school Music at the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universit ...

, majoring in clarinet. During his studies, he began playing the bandoneon. In 1990, he went to Buenos Aires to perfect his playing with teachers Arturo Penón and Nestor Marconi. In Paris, he also had lessons with

Juan José Mosalini Juan José Mosalini (29 November 1943 – 27 May 2022)Murió e ...

, one of the most famous tango soloists of

tango nuevo Nuevo tango is both a form of music in which new elements are incorporated into traditional tango music, and an evolution of tango dance that began to develop in the 1980s. Dance Origins Prior to the 1990s, Argentine tango was taught with a didac ...

. As a bandoneonist, Hensel has worked with renowned orchestras, such as the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

and the

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) is a German broadcast orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra performs its concerts principally in the Philharmonie Berlin. The orchestra is administratively based at the ''Rundfunk Berlin-Branden ...

, and renowned soloists, such as guitarist Quique Sinesi. His musical interest is particularly in the compositions of

Astor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fro ...

, which he has recorded in original versions and also in his own arrangements on CD. As a composer, he wrote operas, chamber and orchestral music. In it, he tries to combine mainly South American tango elements with classical European chamber music. As a commissioned work for the , Hensel wrote the chamber opera ''Ein letzter Tango für Margot H.'' in 2001. In 2007, his opera ''Pamina lebt'' was premiered at the . He also wrote the libretto for this work. In the same year, his 2nd concerto for

and large orchestra was premiered with the

Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz The Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate) is the largest and leading symphony orchestra of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, based in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. It gives concerts in Rhineland-Palatin ...

, which was broadcast live by Deutschlandradio. Hensel performs chamber music and as a soloist with his quartet ''tango fusión'', which consists of

, violin, cello and double bass. He also gives concerts with his tango orchestra ''Septísimo Tango''. Since the 2000s, he has lived with his wife and daughter in

Friedrichshagen Friedrichshagen () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Treptow-Köpenick. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Köpenick. History The colony of ''Friedrichsgnade'' was founded on May 29, 1753 ...

.''The Lament of the Bandoneon''
/ref> He was also a teacher for the school subject music and German at the Gebrüder-Montgolfier Gymnasium in the

Treptow-Köpenick Treptow-Köpenick () is the ninth borough of Berlin, Germany, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Treptow and Köpenick. Overview Among Berlin's boroughs it is the largest by area with the lowest po ...

district of Berlin until the end of the 2019/20 school year.

References

External links

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Homepage of tango fusión
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hensel, Lothar German composers Bandoneonists 1961 births Living people People from Dormagen