Cobario - Strings on Fire
Cobario
"Spanish Nights"
When the well-traveled Vienna world music trio Cobario enters the stage with two guitars and a violin, you already feel in the midst of the shimmering heat of a Spanish night after the first notes, smell the sea, still feel the sun on your skin.
In their new program "Spanish Nights," Herwig "Herwigos" Schaffner (violin), Peter Weiss (guitar), and Giorgio Rovere (guitar) have assembled their most passionate songs: many beloved audience favorites of the Viennese string artists, in which fiery guitar chords mingle with sometimes exultant, sometimes sighing violin sounds. Weiss' and Rovere's nimble fingers fly over the guitar neck, virtuosically plucking the strings, striking fast chords, while Herwig Schaffner dynamically or tenderly swings the violin bow. Cobario manages to appeal to all senses with their songs. Music to feel, to smell, to taste! For them, "Spanish Nights" was also a musical search for traces: back to their beginnings, when they captivated their audience in the streets of Barcelona and absorbed the Mediterranean way of life of a warm summer night in the light of the street lamps with tapas and a glass of Rioja, to make it palpable again in their compositions today. One is quickly carried away by the melodies and stories that the three vagabonds tell on their instruments and in their tales. In "La Gaviota," seagulls sail over the sea, "Tango della Morte" burns like the sun in the endless expanses of the Andalusian steppe, while "Hips of a Girl" whets the appetite for all those tasty morsels that one can enjoy in the streets of Spain. For over ten years, the three playful Viennese musicians have thrilled their audience with melancholic dreamy tunes, energetically driving rhythms, and virtuoso solos. Each a master on their instrument and in improvisation, at the same time a perfectly harmonious sound body in interaction. The multiple award-winning trio started as street musicians in Barcelona in 2006. They quickly developed their own style and were subsequently invited to festivals and concert halls in Europe, North America, and Asia. Their current compositions and lively performance style thrive on the energy of travel and the foreign.
Herwig Schaffner, aka "Herwigos," started learning violin and piano at the age of eight and was admitted to the Salzburg Mozarteum at the age of 16. He played in the "European Youth Orchestra" and under conductors like Yehudi Menuhin and Sandor Vegh. Extensive orchestra tours took him through Europe and Asia.
Georg Aichberger, aka "Giorgio Rovere," started playing the guitar at the age of 14. His youth was marked by self-taught learning and a variety of band projects. He then studied guitar at the University of Music in Vienna and at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. His musical career took him to various countries such as Spain, France, England, Hungary, and Croatia.
Peter Weiss devoted himself to studying the guitar at the age of 13. After graduating and working for a year in electronics development, he decided to study at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and become a professional musician. His teachers included Wolfgang Pointner, Martin Kelner, and Gonzalo Manrique-Vallier, as well as the classical guitarist and composer Nejc Kuhar. In 2020, he enrolled at "ESML Lisboa" in Portugal and studied there with jazz guitarist Afonso Pais. Upon his return, he played in Vienna with several local bands, orchestral projects, and theater productions.
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