Pablo Ziegler and Masae Shiwa: Piano Tango Duo

About the musicians

For decades, Buenos Aires-born, Grammy-winning pianist, composer and arranger Pablo Ziegler has been one of the most important figures in Argentine Nuevo Tango, the vibrant musical hybrid of traditional tango, American jazz, and European art music. 

Recent seasons have seen Ziegler performing at prestigious venues, including Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Muziekgebouw, Victoria Hall, Verbier Festival, Ravinia Festival SFJAZZ, Montreal Jazz Festival, the Ottawa International Jazz Fest, Tokyo Jazz Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, Laguna Beach Music Festival, Blue Note, Birdland, and many others. Ziegler also gives master classes at music academy such as Mozarteum, Yale University, Harvard University, Indiana University, New England Conservatory, Berklee School of Music, and the Eastman School of Music, among others. 

Ziegler’s recent release, Jazz Tango, won the 60th Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album with his trio, Hector Del Curto and Claudio Ragazzi. The Latin Grammy-nominated Amsterdam Meets New Tango, sees his quartet paired with the Netherlands’ Metropole Orkest, playing his most famous compositions rearranged for jazz orchestra. 2016 and 2013 also saw the release of Ziegler's protege and saxophonist Julio Botti's Latin Grammy-nominated Sax to Tango and Tango Nostalgias with Ziegler, Piazzolla and Cobian's composition. In 2011, Ziegler’s work as music director, arranger and pianist for bass-baritone opera star Erwin Schrott earned an Echo Klassik Award for the album Rojotango. Ziegler’s 2005 release, Bajo Cero, won the LATIN Grammy for Best Tango Album, and in 2008, his album Buenos Aires Report was nominated for the same honor. Ziegler released his first Solo Piano album by Steinway and Sons in 2018. ​

Born in Japan, Masae Shiwa started studying the piano at the age of three and continued her training with Michiko Yoshida, a legendary professor who has produced the winners of Chopin and Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition. Masae became a winner of various piano competitions at an early age.​ Her academic curiosity led her to earn bachelor's degree in business administration at Fordham University in New York and an arts management diploma from Berklee College of Music in Boston. ​Masae has worked closely with the Grammy-winning composer/pianist​/arranger Pablo Ziegler for over a decade for recordings, orchestrations, new opera projects, and master classes. ​Being recognized as an expert in Nuevo Tango, she has been involved in various award-winning recording projects and served as a jurymember at the International Piazzolla Music Competition. She also collaborated with Orquesta Juvenil Simon Bolivar, Martha Argerich, Bruno Gelber, Jose Colangelo, and Jairo, among others. Masae performs the two pianos program with Pablo Ziegler regularly. Their repertoire includes Bach, Tchaikovsky, Piazzolla, and Ziegler's compositions. ​They performed at the historical hall at New Otani in the presence of distinguished guests in Japan, National Auditorium at Centro Cultural Kirchner in Buenos Aires, along with Pipi Piazzolla (Astor Piazzolla’s grandson), ​Walter Castro​ (​the Latin Grammy-winning bandoneon player), ​Horacio ​Mono Hurtado, and Armando ​D​e ​L​a Vega in the program "Two Pianos Quintet" celebrating Piazzolla’s centennial​ anniversary. ​Her recent appearance with Ziegler was at Sala São Paulo in Brazil and Music and Beyond Festival in Canada.