My Classical Notes brings you today a review of “The Sound of Piazzolla”
The individual tracks are as follows:
Piazzólla:
Libertango, with Alison Balsom (trumpet)
Escualo
Alison Balsom (trumpet)
Oblivion
Martha Argerich (piano)
Histoire du Tango: Bordel 1900, withEmmanuel Pahud (flute)
Fuga y Misterio, with The 12 Cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Adiós Nonino
The 12 Cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Primavera Porteña, with Daniel Barenboim (piano)
Verano Porteño with Daniel Barenboim (piano)
Otoño Porteña with David Aaron Carpenter (viola)
Invite no Porteño
tenTHing
Five Tango Sensations: Asleep, with the Alban Berg Quartett
Le Grand Tango with Mstislav Rostropovich (cello)
La Muerte del Angel
Manuel Barrueco
Los Pajaros Perdidos
Philippe Jaroussky (countertenor)
Concierto del angel
Tango Ballet
Maria de Buenos Aires Suite, with Gidon Kremer
All performed by the Kremer Baltica, Kremer Musica, Coral Lirico Buenos Aires
Some of the greatest names on today’s classical music scene pay Homage to Astor Piazzolla. Presented in two distinct programs, the first part highlights the most varied of influences: this is not just about the tango; there are influences from jazz and the classical traditions of Bach and Vivaldi, all brought together here. The second part combines original classical compositions – the ‘tango operita’ María de Buenos Aires, the Tango Ballet and Concierto del Angel.
The recordings by Gidon Kremer and his KremerATA Baltica are a true piece of Piazzolla pioneer work.
In the 1950’s when Astor Piazzolla went to Paris to study classical composition, the tango of his native Argentina was not considered fit for the concert stages of Europe; these were the sultry sounds of the street; the music of the demimonde. Luckily, the formidable composition teacher Nadia Boulanger encouraged her Argentinian pupil to draw precisely on those roots.
Piazzolla at last found his true voice as a composer and bandoneon virtuoso. Today, he is considered the father of tango as we know it today, blending rhythmic vitality with orchestral textures. Twenty-five years after Piazzolla’s death, The Sound of Piazzolla confirms that the founder of Tango Nuevo left as his legacy a unique style of music that sounds just as fresh and vibrant today.
Here is the music!
