The Kings of Tango: Francisco Lomuto
An interview with the
composer Francisco J. Lomuto, the composer of “Muñequita”,
“Nunca Más”, and “Pa que te Acordés” [Conducted by Ernesto
E. de la Fuente, Buenos Aires, 1928]
As we reach the home of
Francisco J. Lomuto, the popular composer, we realize that we have
arrived a little before the agreed time. He has promised to let us
hear some of his latest musical productions, namely three tangos that
have not been named yet.
As we reach the home of
Francisco J. Lomuto, the popular composer, we realize that we have
arrived a little before the agreed time. He has promised to let us
hear some of his latest musical productions, namely three tangos that
have not been named yet.
A pair of beautiful
pomeranians, having received us at first with growls, now appear to
be willing to partake in friendship by cuddling up to us, yet not
without taking certain precautions.
A noisy breaking, a
stopping car, and the author of “Muñequita” steps out of his
car.
Lomuto is a devotee of
velocity. He affirms that his greatest pleasure is not just to speed,
but to fly through those streets of God on which Man had the bad idea
of placing traffic officers.
—”Is there anything
more unnecessary than those coppers who want to coerce us into
traveling by car as if in a carriage being pulled by an old hack.”
—“Safety comes
first!”, say some posters displayed here and there and, up to a
certain point, we agree with them...
—“Why, then, do they
allow the sales of cars?... The streets should be as free as my
keyboard, on which my fingers perform fancywork without having to
fear that someone commands them to stop...”
 |
| Francisco Lomuto |
Lomuto lives quietly and
apparently without many worries. He is perhaps another one of those
musicians who have gained celebrity and money.
He lives in a beautiful,
recently built house in company of his mother who, when he was young,
compelled him to study music in spite of his own completely contrary
predilections.
Among his piano, a
mountain of pieces, and his inspiration: there he is at ease and
expects to work a lot, because he is young, has energy, and flows
over with enthusiasm.
—“Many things in
preparation?...”
—“A few tangos that
are almost finished, but I have to polish them a little more.”
—“Do you think they
will be successful?”
—“In fact, I do; and
leaving all modesty aside, I believe they will be to the liking of
the audience because their melodies seem to me in no way ordinary
but rather pleasant...”
Without saying more—and
while the valet is placing a flask containing liqueur and
multicolored glasses on a table—he starts playing the first notes
of his latest tango: on that piano which he still keeps like a
pleasant memory of his early times of incertitude and struggle.
It is a subtle harmony, a
country tango, full of pleasant melodies and uncommon variations,
with which the composer wanted to step away a bit from the
commonplaces of the música típica
that almost always cast it with the same molds.
 |
| Lomuto and his pomeranians |
After
having performed two more, equally pleasant tangos, in which Lomuto
tried to escape the usual themes:
—“I
still have not given them titles,” he tells us. “I have presently
so many things on my hand that I almost cannot give my music the
attention it deserves...”
Indeed,
as it happens to popular composers and performers, Lomuto has to set
aside many hours of the week for making records—a task that
requires a greater dedication than the public thinks.
—“Which
of your tangos had the greatest success?”
Our
interlocutor ponders briefly and then responds:
—“There
are many, but to be remembered as such are two or three of them. I
could name 'La Rezongona', 'Muñequita', and 'Nunca Más', which have
attained decisive success. Now, some time ago, I published 'A Toda
Vela' that was liked very much.”
—“Have
you not made compositions of other types?”
—“Some.
For example, the dance numbers 'More more', a one-step that became
popular quite unexpectedly; the same as the foxtrot 'Hay que aprender
a bailar' and 'Rosicler', a waltz that I wrote almost haphazardly and
was well liked.”
As
the author of “Muñequita” is, in fact, one of the few composers
of the country that have not yet gone on a “tournée” of the Old
World, we question him in this respect.
—“I
have not gone away from Buenos Aires,” he tells us, “because, to
say the truth, I have not had the time to do so. I have always been
the slave of unavoidable tasks that have tied me to this city, which
I love with such immense affection...”
—“But
do you have the intention to follow, at least, the unavoidable path
to Paris?”
—“Perhaps I will do it next year. Although I must tell you that I
sent a brother of mine to the 'City of Light', who has had the most
favorable success with his orquesta típica.
Lomuto
as well has savored the delight of immediate triumph with several of
his compositions. At the tango competitions at the Gran Splendid, he
met with sensational approval by the audience, which had to give its
verdict on some tangos and letting 'Pa que te Acordés' prevail among
others. This tango achieved an enormous dissemination.
 |
| Advertisement with the winners of the first Disco Nacional tango competition |
Nevertheless,
the tireless composer feels that something is missing in his life. He
yearns for even greater triumphs and has faith in the sense that he
must fulfill his intentions.
Therefore,
when he remembers his first tango, published almost unnoticed more
than 15 years ago, and the applause it reaped later, he cannot help
but get emotional.
And
then, sitting at the piano, he lets us hear the chords of
“Muñequita”, that tango which resonated from one end of the
country to the other.
¿Dónde estará
Mi amor, que no puedo hallarlo?
Yo no hago más que buscarlo
porque sin él ya no es vida.
Probé la fruta prohibida.
Probé el encanto de amarlo.
¿Dónde estará
Mi amor, que no puedo hallarlo?
And, as if to stifle his emotion, he pours down the glass of liqueur
that has been waiting for its turn up to now on the silver tray.
Remarks
Francisco
Lomuto (1893-1950) was the oldest of 10 children. His father was a
violinist, and Francisco learned to play the piano from his mother.
Three of his brothers also became musicians.
Early
in his career, he worked at the music and phonograph store Casa
Tagini and played music scores on the piano for prospective
customers. (Casa Tagini was the largest store of this kind in Buenos Aires until Max Glücksmann took over Casa Lepage and expanded into the music business.) He composed his first tango, “El 606”, at age 13 in
1906. “Muñequita”, composed in 1918 and recorded by Roberto
Firpo, was his first great success.
Lomuto
formed his own orchestra in 1923 and started recording for Max Glücksmann's Odeon
Disco Nacional in 1924. Together with Francisco Canaro and Roberto
Firpo, his was among the most successful orchestras of the record
label.
His tango “Pa que te Acordés” won the second prize of Disco
Nacional's first tango competition in 1924, four years before this interview was conducted. (“Sentimiento gaucho”
by Francisco and Rafael Canaro to a text by Juan Andrés Caruso took
first place.) For the competitions of 1925 and 1927, Lomuto provided
the performing orchestra, and his tango “De buena fe” won 6th
prize in 1926.
Lomuto
never performed in Paris, but visited Spain in 1947. His younger
brother Victor went to Paris in 1921 (thus, more likely on his own accord than being 'sent' by his brother) and spend many years in Europe. He played in the orchestras of Manuel Pizarro and Bianco-Bachicha, among others, in Paris and toured with his own group throughout Europe. None of the other brothers of Francisco Lomuto appear to have worked in Paris.
Translation by Wolfgang Freis. ©2017. All rights reserved.
Translation by Wolfgang Freis. ©2017. All rights reserved.
