Mariano Speranza  |  Composer  |  Argentina

The composition “Vértigos y Ausencia” by the Argentine composer Mariano Speranza won an award at the 2026 ASTOR PIAZZOLLA International Competition and will now receive its world premiere at our “Piazzolla Reloaded” festival in the Philharmonie Berlin. Mariano Speranza describes his work as follows:

In Vértigos y Ausencia, I sought to give shape to a deeply personal tension: that between the need to belong and the often unavoidable necessity of leaving. This piece emerges from an experience of separation, not only geographical, but existential, from a life that, at a certain point, one must leave behind in order to follow a different path.

The opening fugato reflects this instability: a restless search for a point of grounding, where disorientation coexists with the desire to find light and direction. At a certain moment, the music comes to a halt, opening into an Adagio of a more intimate and suspended character. Here, violin and bandoneón give voice to a sense of nostalgia and acceptance—of what is no longer, yet continues to resonate in another form. In the final section, the theme returns transformed: simpler, more conscious, sustained by an energy that looks forward. It is not a resolution, but a gesture of hope. (Mariano Speranza)

Photo: José López