Osmar Maderna

Osmar Héctor Maderna (February 26, 1918 – April 28, 1951) was an Argentine pianist, conductor, composer, and arranger of tango music. Born in Pehuajó, Buenos Aires Province, he showed musical talent early, forming the local Vitaphone orchestra at age thirteen and earning his diploma as a piano teacher by fifteen. In 1938, at twenty, he relocated to Buenos Aires, initially joining Manuel Fernández’s orchestra before becoming pianist in Miguel Calò’s orchestra in October 1939, a position he held until 1945. He then founded his own orchestra, performing on Radio El Mundo in 1946 with singers Orlando Berry and Luis Tolosa. His symphonic compositional style, exemplified by instrumental works such as Concierto en la luna (1946), Lluvia de estrellas (1948), and Escalas en azul (1950), distinguished him in the tango scene. He achieved commercial success with the waltz Pequeña (1949). Maderna was also an accomplished aircraft pilot. He died in a tragic accident on April 28, 1951, when his small aircraft collided with another plane near Lomas de Zamora during an unauthorized airspeed competition, killing both occupants instantly.

Sources note: No significant conflicts found. All sources (Wikipedia EN/ES, tango.info, MusicBrainz, Wikidata) consistently confirm: birth date 1918-02-26 (tango.info explicitly states Tuesday), death date 1951-04-28 (tango.info explicitly states Saturday), birthplace Pehuajó Buenos Aires, death location Lomas de Zamora Buenos Aires. All major biographical facts align across sources.