El gato de mi casa

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It is a privilege and an honor to be the editor of this new series with Alliance Music Publications Inc. dedicated to excellent choral music in the Spanish language. I am excited to share with you the series' inaugural publication: El gato de mi casa (My House's Cat), a unique composition by Italian-Argentinian composer Antonio María Russo, who was my first choral conducting teacher.

About the composer

Antonio María Russo (1934-2021) had an extensive and brilliant career, beginning as a prominent choral conductor and a revered pedagogue who taught generations of conductors. He went on to become an orchestral conductor, specializing in choral-orchestral repertoire and opera. In addition, he was a prolific, award-winning composer and arranger.

Born in Italy, Maestro Russo immigrated to Argentina as a teenager. His long career included conducting all major symphony orchestras in Argentina and many across South America, conducting several professional choirs (Teatro Colón, National Polyphonic Choir, etc.), and leading Juventus Lyrica Association for over 20 years, delving into operatic repertoire. Major compositions include Missa Corpus Christi (1998), Magnificat (1999), and Pasión según San Juan (2002). Antonio Russo was a seminal figure of the music scene in Argentina and a beloved artist-teacher who garnered countless honors and awards, earned respect and admiration, and left an immense legacy.

About the work

The gato (cat) dance, arguably the most popular folk partner dance in Argentina, was born during the first decades of the 19^th century. Without distinctions of age, race, or social class, the gato developed as a joyous and agile dance in which partners flirt with elegance and prudence.