# Ástor Piazzolla



## Sid James

Ástor Piazzolla (1921-1992) was an Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed _nuevo tango_, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music. An excellent bandoneonist, he regularly performed his own compositions with different ensembles.

(Above taken from _Wikipedia_)

I think that the way in which Piazzolla transformed the humble tango into high art is amazing. His music, which is usually for small groups, combines techniques found in classical music, such as counterpoint, with the free improvisation of jazz. His music, which was relatively neglected outside of Argentina until the last decade, has found its way into the concert hall and onto classical record labels via the cinema.

What are people's thoughts on this very specialised composer?


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## Chi_townPhilly

_Sin embargo_, one of a kind! I have pride in what he did. My student did very well for himself! 
(Signed).......................................................................Alberto Ginastera.


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## Ciel_Rouge

I like his Libertango. He was a great composer and I am looking forward to discovering more of his music.


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## bdelykleon

I like very much Astor Piazzolla, but there two piazzollas the tanguero and the classical, the former for me is much more interesting in his bartokian tango, but when he starts composing suites, concertos, the result is not as good as his more "tellurical" works.


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## Taneyev

The tangos he recorded with his several chamber ensambles are just that: chamber music, and great ones IMO.


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## bdelykleon

The form and some of the instrumentation is not the most canonical chamber music, and actually even normal tango orquestas can play a very sophisticated sound, so I think it is easier to interpret Piazzolla as a very good Tango with classical and jazz influences rather than chamber music. I think it is not demeaning to call his music Tango, this was his origin and great part of his training (Piazzolla actually had formal classic training, but as his teacher Nadia Boulanger said, he was better at Tango).


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## Sid James

Taneyev said:


> The tangos he recorded with his several chamber ensambles are just that: chamber music, and great ones IMO.





bdelykleon said:


> The form and some of the instrumentation is not the most canonical chamber music, and actually even normal tango orquestas can play a very sophisticated sound, so I think it is easier to interpret Piazzolla as a very good Tango with classical and jazz influences rather than chamber music. I think it is not demeaning to call his music Tango, this was his origin and great part of his training (Piazzolla actually had formal classic training, but as his teacher Nadia Boulanger said, he was better at Tango).


I think you can view his music as kind of between high and low art, something in it's own class. Just listen to the chamber opera (or is it an operetta?) _Maria de Buenos Aires_, composed in the late 1960's. He did study with the best in classical like Boulanger and Ginastera, but his best music remained inspired by the humble roots of the Argentinian tango.


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## science

*Astor Piazzolla*

Quite a few classical music stores are carrying his music these days, and it seems to be popularly accepted as "classical-ish" music, so I figure we can have a thread on it.

The most famous album is Tango: Zero Hour










That seems more "poppy" than "classical" to me, but it is excellent music no matter how you classify it. On the more obviously classical side, I think a great album is with the Kronos Quartet:










Gideon Kremer, Yo-Yo Ma, and others have also recorded a lot of his musc.


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## science

Ugh. What a fail.

Sorry, I can't edit that post, but that Tango Sensations image is too big!

How about this one:


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## tdc

I have some flute and guitar music by Piazolla called Histoire du Tango, that is quite good. I also know one of his pieces was required repertoire at one of the recent GFA's (classical guitar competition), so he is definetely a well-respected composer in the world of classical guitar.


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## myaskovsky2002

*A problematic Idol*

As you may know, I was born in Argentina and I lived there for 30 years. I know and appreciate very much Piazzola, I saw him as well as his mistress, Amelita Baltar a couple of times in Buenos Aires, capital of the country.

He is loved by young people who accept the fact that Tango can be updated and hated by the traditional tango lovers (Pichuco, Osvaldo Pugliese, Mariano Mores, Carlos Gardel).
He was very corageous and had to live in Paris (the city of "news" in art) in order to be successful.
He was an Alban Berg lover and indeed Classical music had a great deal influence on him.
Tangazo is really modern and his "opera Maria de Buenos Aires" is a Master piece

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/María_de_Buenos_Aires

But he remains known by two titles:

Balada para un loco (ballad for a crazy man):






and the very well known: Adios Nonino (Farewell to Nonino)






Tango was always played with a special instrument called Bandoneón (kind of a accordion).

It could be interesting to see a video of Carlos Gardel (old tango) and compare...The rythm is similar but just that!

Por una cabeza:





 I'm pretty sure you will recognize this from the movie scent of a woman

Original version:






Tango is a tradition in Buenos Aires, just in Buenos Aires, not in Argentina.
Ane we, Argentinian, are very proud of it.

Of course if you understand Spanish it helps!
You can ask more if I can be useful.

Martin


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## myaskovsky2002

*Oops*

Sorry, the old version is here:






Martin


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## Sid James

I too love this guy's music, & made a thread on him a while back:

http://www.talkclassical.com/5382-stor-piazzolla.html

EDIT: Mods, it would be a good idea to combine my Piazzolla thread above with the new one, maybe deleting the oversized image if possible...


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## Art Rock

I have about 8 CD's of his works, at which point oversaturation started to set in. But I love what I heard. I particularly like the concerto for bandoneon and orchestra - but then again, unusual concertos are a hobby of mine.


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## radiohlite

love _La Camorra_


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## myaskovsky2002

*I know it is old....*

But I posted Carlos Gardel's _Por una cabeza_....

Please listen to it!

There is a modern version and an old one.

Martin


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## science

Andre said:


> I too love this guy's music, & made a thread on him a while back:
> 
> http://www.talkclassical.com/5382-stor-piazzolla.html
> 
> EDIT: Mods, it would be a good idea to combine my Piazzolla thread above with the new one, maybe deleting the oversized image if possible...


I'm all for this!


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## Vaneyes




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## myaskovsky2002

*La Camorra*



> love La Camorra


Camorra is Spanish slang in Argentina for "start a fight".

Martin


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## myaskovsky2002

Beautiful choice...but a very old Tango.

Carlos Gardel was the most famous tango singer in Argentina. He was also very successfull in the States...He died in a plane crash...in 1935

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Gardel

It is important to know Gardel to understand the tango and the pride Argentinian people have about him.

El dia que me quieras (tango-cancion) tango-song

Original:






Modern:






Placido Domingo:






Julio Iglesias:






a wonderful song.

Martin


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## CypressWillow

Oh, sorry, just found this thread, after starting one for Libertango itself.


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## Sid James

*Re Libertango,* though its Astor's most popular work, apparently there was a major stuff up re copyright, so he did not earn a cent from it despite its popularity! Well, ubiquity actually, I've heard it played in cafes here. He actually aimed to write a popular tango with a catchy tune, this was after getting to know American popular arrangers like Quincy Jones, who Piazzolla wanted to emulate. Ironic how he achieved this with the Libertango, but got no (or little at least) financial returns.

Libertango must be up there with the most arranged tunes in history. The wikipedia article on it mentions that "the composition has appeared on over 500 separate releases," Grace Jones' version being the most famous. Think how many versions of Pachelbel's Canon there are, or of things like Elgar's Salut d'amour - so many arrangements of it listed here. Libertango probably eclipses them all!...


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## CyrilWashbrook

From the other thread:


CypressWillow said:


> An amazing piece. Piazzolla's original version (not the later one he did with Yo Yo Ma) is magical. And there's a version by The Cello Project that I also love. Another cover is one by a symphony orchestra from, I think, Albania.


It's a very nice piece. The Cello Project arrangement that you mention is my personal favourite.

Speaking of cellos and Piazzolla: if you haven't already, it's well worth tracking down the Piazzolla arrangements done by the 12 Cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker. They did a set of three on their Angel Dances CD a few years back. (The first time I heard anything of Piazzolla was in a concert at the Philharmonie featuring the 12 Cellists, about a year and a half ago.)


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## millionrainbows

Beautiful, beautiful music.


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## Vaneyes

A lovely assortment (incl. Piazzolla) for solo piano, with Arminda Canteros. Recorded 1989 at Pollack Hall, McGill University, Montreal.


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