The Berlin trio Luz y Sombra gives a new face to Tango Nuevo with their joy of playing, creativity and virtuosity.
Since its founding 15 years ago, the ensemble has dedicated itself to Astor Piazzolla’s compositions, presenting them in previously unheard arrangements for their instrumentation of violin, clarinet/ bass clarinet and piano.
The three classically trained musicians constantly reinvent their own playing and Piazzolla’s music, bringing it to the stage with ease and brilliance.
Numerous concert tours have taken the three classically trained musicians throughout Germany, to other European countries and beyond. Luz y Sombra has performed at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Französischer Dom Berlin and the Felicja Blumental Music Center Tel Aviv, among others.
In collaboration with Skycap Records, the trio has released two albums to date: „Luz y Sombra“ (2012) and „Milonga Loca“ (2016). Since 2017, the ensemble has also performed as a quartet with singers Diego Valentín Flores and Nicolás Lartaun in concerts that focus on Piazzolla’s vocal music.
Funded by the Berlin Senate, the third album „Chiquilín“ will be released on 5/14/2021 in collaboration with Galileo Records, on which the trio invites singer Nicolás Lartaun as guest artist.
Programs:
100 Years of Astor Piazzolla!
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Astor Piazzolla’s birth, Trio Luz y Sombra presents a tribute to the great tango revolutionary, whose compositions, with their connection to jazz and classical music, gave new meaning to tango.
The concert program highlights Piazzolla’s extensive life’s work from the early traditional tango of his youth to the contemporary tango nuevo that has become indispensable from the world’s great classical stages. With great care, audible passion and attention to detail, Luz y Sombra draws its listeners under the spell of Piazzolla’s energetic music and proves that his work has countless facets to offer beyond famous pieces like the „Libertango“ and „Adios Nonino“.
Chiquilín
with Nicolás Lartaun (baritone)
The homeless boy Chiquilín sells roses in the theater district of Buenos Aires and dreams of finally flying away with his self-made kite. If only he had let himself be enchanted by the destiny on the white bicycle that rattles through the city these days. Meanwhile, behind one of the many illuminated windows, a man is drinking his penultimate whiskey. While he reviews his life, a love-struck dancer with a bowler hat on his head waltzes in the streets. If you follow him, you meet Maria, who herself embodies the story of the tango through revival and death, rebirth and ghost existence.
All these wondrous characters and surreal scenes come to life in the concert program „Chiquilín“ by Luz y Sombra and Nicolás Lartaun.
Horacio Ferrer created them in the 1960s in his lyrics for Astor Piazzolla and his outrageously avant-garde music, which moves boundlessly between tango, classical modernism and jazz. A long collaboration between the two masters of their art resulted in impressive songs and ballads that at the time stirred and polarized the world.
Rinascerò
with Diego Valentín Flores (baritone)
Together with the internationally renowned Argentine tango singer Diego Valentín Flores, the Trio Luz y Sombra presents the Tango Nuevo in a successful mixture of vocal and instrumental music, ballad and milonga, rhythmic force and melodic poetry.
Astor Piazzolla’s compositions met with resistance from Argentina’s tango traditionalists, but thanks to him the tango, which had somewhat gone out of fashion, experienced a rebirth and spread like wildfire around the world.
Inspired by the diversity of Piazzolla’s music, the singer, who was awarded the title of „best tango artist“ in his home country, and the three Berlin instrumentalists combine their different cultural and musical backgrounds in their interpretations of selected pieces. The product of this musical synthesis is a mature concert program that takes its listeners on a world tour of Tango Nuevo.
Miriam Erttmann began her studies in 2000 at the Musikwissenschaftliches Institut, Hamburg. After a couple of semesters she moved to Berlin to study the violin at the University of Arts with Professor Jan Tomes. Miriam has participated in numerous orchestral projects and master classes in Germany and abroad. Since graduating Miriam has performed in over 400 chamber music concerts around the world. Besides her passion for classical music, Miriam is also very interested in different genres such as jazz, salon music from the twenties and pop music. However, Tango Nuevo and modern tango is what she is most passionate about.
The young artist is also a member of the tango-world-jazzband Bassa. With the financial support of the Initiative Musik des Bundes and the Kulturstiftung from the Berlin Senat, five albums have already been recorded and published. In 2012 she founded the singer-songwriter project Blackbird and Spenser, where she sings and plays the piano. Besides her commitment as a performer, songwriting and composing are an important part of her artistic work.
Cora Rott is currently studying the clarinet with Prof.Alexander Bachl and Prof. Matthias Albrecht at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. Prior to this she took her artistic and teaching diploma for clarinet at Universität der Künste in Berlin.
In the past years she participated actively with her clarinet or bass clarinet in various different orchestras such as the Berliner Operngruppe, Berlin Sinfonietta, Junge Sinfonie Berlin, Orquesta Sinfónica de Trujillo and with the Junges Ensemble Berlin in Peru, Jordan, the Netherlands and Poland. Regularly she appears on stage at the Berlin Philharmonic as well as the Konzerthaus Berlin, playing under conductors such as Colin Metters, Felix Krieger, Marc Piollet, Ulrich Windfuhr and Harish Shankar. And she was heard in the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.
As soloist, Cora has appeared with Carl Maria von Weber`s first Clarinet Concert in Germany and Peru.
Cora gathered teaching experience working in Berlin and internationally, in Peru as well as Jordan where in 2016 she designed and led a music project for Syrian refugee children.
Her special relationship with Latin America is now expressed through Tango Nuevo as member of the Trio “Luz y Sombra”.
Katja Steinhäuser studied at the University of Arts in Berlin with Professor Linde Großmann (piano) and Professor Hartmut Fladt (music theory). Besides playing solo repertoire, Katja has been particularly interested in ensemble playing since the beginning of her musical studies and has participated in chamber music masterclasses. She has performed in numerous chamber and orchestral concerts in Germany and abroad.
Since 2012 Katja has been playing in the Israeli German ensemble Trio Camino which proceeds a journey on the path between the worlds of traditional music of different countries and classical music. In 2013 she performed with the Kammerphilharmonie Berlin-Brandenburg on the harpsichord in the Kammermusiksaal of the Philharmonie Berlin. Moreover, she founded the duo Fleur de Sel with Miriam Erttmann with which she gave concerts on the MS Albatros and is part of the vocal group Ensemble Polyvox.
Besides being an active performer, Katja Steinhäuser also teaches music theory, analysis and aural training at the UdK Berlin. She regularly gives lectures at music theory conferences, moderates concerts and is author of a number of articles concerning music theory.
Hamburg
5 Apr 2025 · 19:00
Zumikon (CH)
Zumiker Kulturkreis
mit Diego Valentín Flores (Bariton)30 Nov 2023 · 19:30
Hamburg
Crossdorf
mit Diego Valentín Flores (Bariton)25 Nov 2023 · 20:00
Berlin
Johann-Sebastian-Bach Kirchengemeinde
mit Diego Valentín Flores (Bariton)19 Nov 2023 · 18:00
Lindow
Banzendorfer Kulturschock
mit Nicolás Lartaun (Bariton)8 Jul 2023 · 19:30
Haltern am See
14 Okt 2022 · 20:00
Hamburg
Schnittke Akademie
(mit Oriel Quartett)8 Okt 2022 · 20:00
Altensteig
10 Okt 2021 · 19:00
Zürich (CH)
Villa Irniger
9 Okt 2021 · 17:00
Haltern am See
Lea-Drüppel-Theater
verlegt auf 20222 Okt 2021 · 20:00
Bielefeld
Wassermühle Deppendorf
verlegt auf 20221 Okt 2021 · 20:00
Hamburg
Heidbarghof
mit Nicolás Lartaun - Bariton4 Sep 2021 · 20:00
Radolfzell Mettnau
Freilichtbühne: Konzertmuschel auf der Mettnau
mit Nicolás Lartaun - Bariton9 Jul 2021 · 20:00
Berlin
entfällt aufgrund der Corona-Pandemie: Jüdische Gemeinde
mit Nicolás Lartaun - Bariton30 Mai 2021 · 17:00
online
100 Jahre Astor Piazzolla – ein Jubiläumskonzert
mit Nicolás Lartaun - Bariton11 Mrz 2021 · 20:00
Berlin
25 Okt 2020 · 18:00
Berlin
23 Feb 2020 · 19:00
Hamburg
„Crossdorf“ Stadtteilkulturfest
Workshop "Tango erleben!" mit Luz y Sombra8 Feb 2020 · 10:00
Hamburg
Heidbarghof
(mit Nicolás Lartaun - Bariton)7 Feb 2020 · 19:00
Zürich (CH)
Villa Irniger
(mit Diego Valentín Flores - Bariton)8 Jul 2019 · 19:00
Bernried am Starnberger See
Barocksaal Kloster Bernried
(mit Diego Valentín Flores - Bariton)7 Jul 2019 · 19:00
Reimlingen
Konzertstadl
(mit Diego Valentín Flores - Bariton)6 Jul 2019 · 20:00
Radolfzell Mettnau
Zeller Kultur
(mit Diego Valentín Flores - Bariton)5 Jul 2019 · 20:00
Norddorf (Amrum)
Gemeindehaus Norddorf
(mit Diego Valentín Flores - Bariton)12 Jun 2019 · 20:00
Berlin
Clärchens Ballhaus
(mit Nicolás Lartaun - Bariton)26 Mai 2019 · 20:00
Hamburg
4 Mai 2019 · 19:00
Lübeck
Kolosseum
(mit Nicolás Lartaun - Bariton)19 Okt 2018 · 20:00
Berlin
Französischer Dom
(mit Nicolás Lartaun - Bariton)5 Okt 2018 · 19:30
Zürich (CH)
Villa Irniger
10 Nov 2017 · 19:00
Wyk auf Föhr
13 Okt 2017 · 20:00
Bad Neuenahr
12 Mrz 2017 · 15:30
Bad Neuenahr
11 Mrz 2017 · 15:30
Münster
10 Mrz 2017 · 20:00
Nienburg (Saale)
Schloss Neugattersleben (Vuelvo al Sur)
9 Dez 2016 · 18:30
Zürich, Schweiz
Villa Irniger
24 Mrz 2016 · 19:00
Chiquilín
Titel | Chiquilín
Artist | Luz y Sombra & Nicolás Lartaun
Label | Galileo
Vertrieb | Galileo
Release | 2021
Milonga Loca
Titel | Milonga Loca
Artist | Luz y Sombra
Label | Skycap Records
Vertrieb | Galileo MC
Release | 2016
Luz y Sombra
Videos
Photos
Press
„Fire, passion, feeling and rhythm; the sound of Argentina? No, this is the sound of Berlin! Luz y Sombra, the female trio from the Capital mix one hell of a cocktail of tango, jazz and classical music. Sometimes shrill, sometimes smooth, sometimes screaming, sometimes whispering – but always astonishing. The individual sounds of their instruments – violin, clarinet and piano – we already know, but the combination of the three created a brilliant sound which had to be heard to be believed.“
-Thüringer Allgemeine, 16. 4. 2016-
„Admirably, this performance was carried out from memory but, due to the perfect ensemble playing of the three musicians, every tone, sensitive transition and rhythm was spot-on.“
-Dr. Felix Friedrich, Ponitz, 12. 4. 2016-
„Very exciting and worth listening to.“
-Das Magazin, 04.2016-
„Astor Piazzolla would have been completely smitten by the ladies.“
-Südkurier, 24. 3. 2016-
„From a soft whispering dialogue, through dancing elegance, to rhythmical dynamical ecstasy, the musicians showed a high level of emotional intensity, changing between passion temperament and melancholy, loaded with energy and creativity and polished to the last note. Simply wonderful.“
-Cellesche Zeitung, 2. 3. 2016-
„The three, classically trained musicians excelled both individually and as a group.“
–Rheingau Echo, 25. 2. 2016-
„Luz y Sombra, in relinquishing the usual bandoneon, expose completely new sides to Piazzolla’s pieces.“
–Nitro, 01. 2016-
„The arrangements -all made by themselves- are first class and appear with astonishing transparency and clarity.“
-Augsburger Allgemeine, 2. 7. 2015-
„One concert, one story and a little trip around the world.“
-Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, 28. 12. 2014-
„Highlight of the concert was “ Libertango“, which was interpreted in a jazzy and extremely compelling manner.“
-Rheingau Echo, 10. 4. 2014-
„Astor Piazzolla illustrated the dark hours of the soul with the sounds of his famous bandoneon playing. The female trio does justice to the tragical element of Tango Nuevo without this instrument- in a remarkable way that is worth listening to.“
-Probsteier Herold, 16. 11. 2013-
„Tango nuevo, that could hardly be more beautiful and sparkling. Sometimes deeply melancholic, then again lively, funny, cheerful. But always full of depth and devotion.“
-Ostseezeitung 15.10.2013-
„The show dances to the selected works were the icing on the cake of an acclaimed concert. At the first event of the Förderkreises Drostenhof in 2012, the audience already gave standing ovations before the break.“
-Westfälische Nachrichten 31.01.2012-
„It is exciting to see how the three sensitive musicians make one forget the absence of a bandoneon, even though Piazzolla’s music normally is almost unthinkable without it. The three musicians highlight the pain and melancholy but also the liveliness of this music with a lot of temperament.“
-Melodiva.de 10.2012-
„Three classically trained musicians from Berlin play Astor Piazzolla’s standards in an unusual set-up, namely: violin, clarinet and piano – meltingly tender and immaculate. Although this might be something rather unusual for tango traditionalists, one has to grant the ladies their technical perfection and the fact that their music definitely is danceable.“
-Folker 06.2012-
booking requests
Miriam Erttmann
Phone: +49 178 533 4120
Email:
info(at)luz-y-sombra.de
Credits:
Fotos: Edgard Berendsen, Daniel Barth, Dan Safier
thanks to Clärchens Ballhaus, Villa Elisabeth
Webdesign: Takashi Peterson
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