DeutschIncense of Music 19
Tango Argentino
An olfactory concert – Sunday, 18 June 2017, 8 pm (doors 7 pm)
Gustavo Beytelmann: piano
Oscar Bohórquez: violin
Claudio Bohórquez: cello
Incense: Palo Santo, Copal Oro
Roter Salon at the Volksbühne, Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, 10178 Berlin – Volksbühne link
"If tango does not change, it degenerates into a museum of music and ceases to be a people's music."
For Incense of Music No. 19, we head to the legendary Roter Salon at the Volksbühne to celebrate an evening devoted to tango argentino, with music by Astor Piazzolla and Gustavo Beytelmann. Gustavo Beytelmann is no minor figure here — one of Piazzolla's closest musical collaborators, he toured Europe with Piazzolla's legendary Octeto Electrónico in 1977, and has for decades been among the most influential voices in contemporary tango nuevo. Alongside him perform brothers Oscar and Claudio Bohórquez, two of the most sought-after classical soloists of their generation, whose South American roots and virtuosic training build a rare bridge between the classical concert stage and the soul of tango. For the occasion, we will burn Copal Oro from Guatemala and Palo Santo from Peru.
For guests who are particularly sensitive to smoke, this event is not recommended.
Artists
Gustavo Beytelmann — piano
The tango and jazz pianist was born in 1945 in Venado Tuerto, Argentina, into a music-loving family. His father, a talented violinist, taught him piano from earliest childhood. At 13, Gustavo joined his father's dance orchestra and quickly became a skilled interpreter of tango and other dance music. In 1962 he began studying piano, harmony, and composition at the Institute of Music of the University of Rosario, later continuing his compositional studies with Francisco Kröpfl in Buenos Aires, writing music for film (including "La Mafia," "Quebracho," and "Los Gauchos Judíos") and working as a pianist and arranger for the recording industry. In 1976 he moved to Paris, and in 1977, at Astor Piazzolla's invitation, joined his European tour with the Octeto Electrónico. He subsequently formed the group Tiempo Argentino with fellow exiled Argentine musicians, touring Europe and the Americas with them for over twelve years and establishing his reputation as a maestro of tango argentino. After a period in Rome, composing music for Italian radio, television, and film, he returned to Paris to produce three influential albums with Juan José Mosalini and Patrice Caratini that shaped the development of contemporary tango. From 1993, Gustavo Beytelmann devoted himself increasingly to composition, releasing numerous recordings of his own works, compiling tango classics, and arranging scores, always in search of new connections between traditional and modern improvisatory expression. He served as composer in residence in Dijon (1995, 1998) and Guebwiller (2002, 2003). Since 1996 he has been artistic director of the tango department at the Rotterdam Conservatory, teaching at the universities of Seattle and Bellingham (USA), and since 2005 at the Monaco Music Academy.
Claudio Bohórquez — cello
Born in Germany, of Peruvian-Uruguayan descent and based in Berlin, this cellist ranks among the most sought-after musicians of his instrument worldwide. In 2000 he brought himself to international attention by winning both the Pablo Casals Competition at the Kronberg Academy and the Geneva International Music Competition. His solo career has since taken him to concert stages across Europe, North and South America, and Asia. Since 2003, Claudio Bohórquez has held a professorship in cello, first at the Stuttgart University of Music and, since 2016, at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. He has performed with the German radio orchestras, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, the Vienna Symphony, the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Czech Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra, and the Warsaw Philharmonic, with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra in Japan, and with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and Philadelphia Orchestra in the United States. Conductors he has worked with include Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Neville Marriner, Krzysztof Penderecki, and David Zinman. In the 2014/15 season he appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach in Washington and the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Charles Dutoit; in 2015/16 he undertook two tours of Japan. Claudio Bohórquez plays a cello by G. B. Rogeri (c. 1690), provided to him by the Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg.
Oscar Bohórquez — violin
Oscar Bohórquez studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Professor Aaron Rosand from 1998 to 2002, and at the University of Music in Vienna with Professor Günter Pichler of the Alban Berg Quartett from 2002 to 2008. Christoph Eschenbach described him as "one of the most promising young violinists... his outstanding technique, musical depth, and charisma are extraordinary." In September 2009, Oscar Bohórquez made his solo debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra; a solo album featuring works by Piazzolla, Bertold Hummel, and Ysaÿe was released at the same time. As a chamber musician he has performed with Boris Pergamenschikov, Julius Berger, Markus Groh, and Gustavo Beytelmann, among others. With his brother, cellist Claudio Bohórquez, he recorded the album "Seduced" in 2011. Concert tours have taken him to the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Beethovenhalle Bonn, the Frankfurt Alte Oper, the Stuttgart Liederhalle, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Berlin Philharmonie, and throughout Latin America, the US, and China, under conductors including Sebastian Weigle, Alexander Shelley, Francesco La Vecchia, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, and Carlos Miguel Prieto. In 2012 he began collaborating with the Paris-based AlmaViva Ensemble, specializing in Latin American chamber music, for which he made recordings. Together with his brother Claudio and pianist Gustavo Beytelmann, Oscar forms the Patagonia Express Trio. He currently resides in Paris, São Paulo, and Karlsruhe, and plays the legendary "Grande Dame" violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (1770).
Incense
Copal is the collective term for aromatic tree resins from Mesoamerica, obtained mainly from various Bursera species — close relatives of frankincense and myrrh. "Copal Oro," or "golden copal," refers to the finest, palest, and most transparent grade of the resin, particularly prized from Guatemala.
The Maya and Aztecs used copal in religious ceremonies as early as pre-Columbian times; it was considered "food of the gods" and burned in temple rituals. To this day, copal remains central to Indigenous spiritual practice in Guatemala and Mexico, used in Day of the Dead ceremonies and purification rituals.
Burned as incense, Copal Oro releases a bright, sweet, pine-like resinous scent with delicate citrus notes. It is considered a lighter, more delicate counterpart to darker copal grades, and is traditionally associated with purification and connection to ancestors and spirits.
Palo Santo — Spanish for "holy wood" — comes from the tree Bursera graveolens, native to the dry coastal forests of Ecuador, Peru, and neighbouring regions of South America. Its aromatic wood is traditionally never cut from a living tree, but collected only years after the tree has died naturally, once the resin has fully developed within the wood.
The Inca and other pre-Columbian cultures of South America already used Palo Santo for spiritual cleansing rituals, to ward off negative energy, and in traditional medicine. In recent years, sharply rising global demand — driven by its spread through wellness and incense practices worldwide — has raised sustainability concerns much like those surrounding white sage.
Burned, Palo Santo releases a warm, sweet, woody scent with notes of pine, mint, and citrus. It is traditionally burned as sticks or shavings, believed to dispel negative energy and promote calm, clarity, and creativity.