Helena Rüegg, born in Zurich, lives in Berlin.

From 1993 to 1998, Helena studied at the tango department of the Rotterdam Conservatory (majoring in bandoneon), in Buenos Aires with maestros Rodolfo Mederos and Julio Pane, and in Paris with Juan José Mosalini.

She subsequently performed as a soloist with, among others, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the SWR Symphony Orchestra, the WDR Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra during the 2010 BBC Proms.

Since 2001, she has been composing music for literary readings and radio plays, including “In Search of Lost Time” by Marcel Proust, “Conversation in Sicily” (SWR 2002), “Almost a Little Spring” (WDR 2003), “The Grandfather and the Wolves” (SWR 2004), and “The Master Thief Arsène Lupin” (SWR 2008–2012), and performs her compositions at readings featuring, among others, Peter Lieck, Monica Bleibtreu, Rufus Beck, Joachim Król, and Rudolf Kowalski.

Helena performs in a trio with French jazz musician Michel Godard (tuba, serben, and electric bass) and Argentine guitarist Quique Sinesi. Her CD “Días de felicidad” was released in 2012 on the Enja label.

“From Bach to Piazzolla” is the name of her duo project with violist Mischa Pfeiffer (WDR Symphony Orchestra), with whom she released a CD of the same name in 2017.

In 2013, Helena founded the cultural association “Bandalena” in Haute Provence and organizes “Les 3 jours de Sigonce” in the southern French village of Sigonce—a highly successful music, art, theater, and dance festival—as well as other cultural events such as the opera “La 3ième porte” and the revue “Mai ’68.”

In 2018–2019, she participated in the “Store the Future” project with Italian, Portuguese, and Croatian partners, funded by “Creative Europe.” This research led to the multimedia performance “Butterflies on Flowers,” based on diaries chronicling the protest movements of the 1968 era, which was staged in Italy, Portugal, and France.

Helena regularly performs in the duo La Luna with Dutch guitarist Rob Bangert, with whom she develops a new musical program each year. In 2021, their CD “Nostalghia” was released, featuring primarily her own compositions written during the first lockdown. In early 2022, the CD “Esfahania” will be released, featuring Rob Bangert (guitar), Mischa Pfeiffer (viola), and Winfried Holtzenkamp (double bass); it includes her own compositions as well as world premieres by Argentine composers written specifically for this CD. In 2024, Helena and Rob will round out this trilogy by recording the CD “Reflejos” with a Ukrainian string quartet.

Since 2020, as part of their podcast series “Los maestros de la musica cuentan”, Helena and Rob have been releasing historically significant interviews—including those with Enrique Cadícamo, Osvaldo Pugliese, Horacio Salgán, and Leopoldo Federico—that Helena conducted beginning in 1993 with many legendary tango composers, musicians, and poets.