The 92nd Street Y, New York to Present Sérgio & Odair Assad: Final Performance Of Farewell Tour

The 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) presents Sérgio & Odair Assad on the David Geffen Stage at Kaufmann Concert Hall, 92NY, 1395 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10128, on Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 7:30 PM. 

Sérgio and Odair Assad, the world-renowned guitar duo, perform their final concert together, bringing their unparalleled artistry and ensemble-playing back to the stage that helped launch them more than four decades ago.

Brazilian brothers Sérgio and Odair Assad have been essential to the evolution of the art of the guitar around the world - and at The 92nd Street Y. A major prize win at the Young Artists Competition in Bratislava in 1979 began their international career, which launched in New York City with a concert on the 92NY stage in January 1980. The duo returned many times over the years, through a career that found them collaborating with artists from Yo-Yo Ma to Gidon Kremer, expanding the repertoire with new works created for them by Astor Piazzolla, Terry Riley, and many others.

This special program is centered on Brazilian and Latin American works by Piazzolla, Egberto Gismonti, Villa Lobos, Gnatalli, and more, including Sérgio's own compositions. The Assads planned their entire farewell-as-a-duo tour to end on the stage that helped introduce them. Don't miss this extraordinary night of artistry and music-making.

Program

Astor Piazzolla Selections from Suite Troileana

AMÉRICO JACOMINO ("CANHOTO") Abismo de Rosas

PAULO BELLINATI Jongo

RADAMÉS GNATTALI Selections from Suite Retratos

SÉRGIO ASSAD One Week in Rio

Heitor Villa-Lobos Alma brasileira

SÉRGIO ASSAD Dyens en trois temps

EGBERTO GISMONTI Palhaço

Baião malandro

SÉRGIO ASSAD Tahhiyya li ossoulina

About Sérgio and Odair Assad

Brazilian-born brothers Sérgio and Odair Assad have created a new standard of guitar innovation, ingenuity, and expression. Their exceptional artistry and uncanny ensemble playing come from a family rich in Brazilian musical tradition and studies under Monina Távora, a disciple of Andrés Segovia. Their virtuosity has inspired a wide range of composers to write for them, including Astor Piazzolla, Terry Riley, Radamés Gnattali, Marlos Nobre, Nikita Koshkin, and many others. Sérgio Assad has added to their repertoire by composing music for the duo and for various musical partners. They have worked extensively with such artists as violinists Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg and Gidon Kremer and soprano Dawn Upshaw. Odair is based in Brussels, where he teaches at Ecole Supérieure des Arts, while Sérgio resides in Chicago.

In 2026, the Assads celebrate their 60th anniversary with a new album of compositions by Sérgio and a tour across North America. The Assad brothers began playing together at an early age, and their international career began with a major prize at the 1979 Young Artists Competition in Bratislava. Their touring programs are a compelling blend of styles, periods, and cultures, with repertoire that includes folk, jazz, and various styles of Latin music along with classical works.

Sérgio Assad premiered his concerto for two guitars, Phases, with the Seattle Symphony. He is currently writing a cello concerto for Yo-Yo Ma. The Assads have also collaborated with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others.

In 2004, Sérgio and Odair arranged a tour featuring three generations of the Assad family including their father, Jorge Assad (1924-2011), on mandolin and the voice of their mother, Angelina Assad. Other highlights include being featured on the Duplicity film soundtrack; the touring project De Volta as Raizes (Back to Our Roots) with Lebanese-American singer Christiane Karam, percussionist Jamey Haddad, and composer/pianist Clarice Assad; tours with Paquito D'Rivera, jazz guitarist Romero Lubambo, and with Yo-Yo Ma and musicians from the Silkroad Ensemble. During the 2019/2020 season, Sérgio and his daughter Clarice Assad premiered and recorded the collaboration Archetypes with Third Coast Percussion.

Recordings on Nonesuch and GHA include Sérgio and Odair Assad Play Piazzolla and Jardim Abandonado, which both received Latin Grammys. They recorded Obrigado Brazil with Yo-Yo Ma, with Sérgio arranging several of the works, and were featured on the cellist's Songs of Joy & Peace. Both recordings won Grammy Awards. Sérgio Assad was also nominated for two Latin Classical Grammys as a composer for his works Interchange and Maraesipe.