The Magic of the Bandoneón

Bernardo Fingas is a bandoneonist, composer, and arranger. His work offers a unique perspective on tango, combining its traditional language with original ideas, exploring new possibilities of expression.

Born in Germany, Bernardo discovered his passion for tango in the 1990s when he first heard the music of Astor Piazzolla. That moment changed the course of his life. In 1998, he moved to Buenos Aires to study bandoneón with legendary masters such as Julio Pane, Osvaldo Montes, and Rodolfo Mederos, while also studying classical composition at the conservatory. Since then, Buenos Aires has become his home—and tango, his way of life.

Through his bandoneón, Bernardo shapes emotion into music. His interpretations combine virtuosity with deep emotional expression, telling stories of longing, passion, and the vibrant heartbeat of Buenos Aires.

His work as a composer includes theater music, original pieces like Astorlogía, Candombilonga, and the award-winning Suite Almagro, which received special recognition from the Fondo Nacional de las Artes.

He has toured extensively across Europe, Brazil, and Colombia, and regularly performs at renowned venues in Buenos Aires, including Confitería Ideal, Torcuato Tasso, and Centro Cultural de la Cooperación. His appearances at leading festivals such as FACAFF and the Festival de Igualdad Cultural have further established his reputation as a powerful voice in contemporary tango.

In 2018, Bernardo received a production grant from the National Music Institute (INAMU) for his album Flâneur, recorded at the legendary ION Studios in Buenos Aires with outstanding musicians like Hernán Reinaudo, Felipe Traine, and Vicente Correa.

He  explores the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, reimagining it for the bandoneón. His adaptations go beyond technical transcription; they preserve the structure of the originals while making them idiomatic for the instrument. This work, in collaboration with Santiago Segret, led 2021 to the unique recordings of fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier, which he transformed from solo keyboard pieces into intricate duets for two bandoneóns.

Beginning in 2020, he created the Solos de Bandoneón series, a unique collection of original arrangements for bandoneón. These works include carefully crafted scores for the 142-tone bisonoric bandoneón and offer new interpretations of classical tango pieces. The series has grown to include tributes to Carlos Gardel (2021), Aníbal Troilo (2023), and most recently, Valses Criollos (2024), inspired by Latin American waltzes and the classical cycles of Brahms, Chopin, and Ravel.

These arrangements are increasingly embraced by bandoneonists worldwide and form a vital part of his contribution to the instrument’s modern repertoire.