Recorded in 1985 at the International Guitar Festival in Liège, maestro Astor Piazzolla (the mentor of modern tango) is joined by Argentinean guitarist Cacho Tirao, Cuban bandleader and guitarist Leo Brouwer (here conducting the Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), Belgian flautist Marc Grauwels, and Guy Lukowski, the guitarist and the Festival’s Artistic Director/Producer who initiated this musical work. Their programme begins with an extraordinarily sensitive performance of the Adios Nonino requiem by the virtuoso bandoneon player, containing notably the first performance of his “Histoire du Tango”. The recording closes with Cacho Tirao’s wonderful piece “Concerto de Buenos Aires”. Frémeaux & Associés is proud to be associated with Guy Lukowski in making this masterly recording available to the public again. It is without a doubt one of the finest moments that the tango has given us. Augustin Bondoux/Patrick Frémeaux
Piazzolla, Gardel, et al.: Amarcord d'un Tango / Albonetti, Bonaventura, Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana
Chandos
CD
$10.99$21.99Save 50%Apr 01, 2022
Marco Albonetti writes: ‘”Amarcord” signifies memory, the nostalgic re-enactment of the past. Here, it evokes the idea of joining two instruments, the saxophone and the bandoneón, both of which were invented in the middle of the nineteenth century. The bandoneón, created as a more agile substitute for the organ in the world of sacred music in Germany, was brought by German immigrants to Buenos Aires, where it became central to the tango, a music enlivened by rhythmic ideas from Africa and inextricably linked to dance. The saxophone – the central character of an adventure story which originated in Belgium, from which the instrument travelled to America where it discovered its promised land – executes the mellow melodies of the tango with a lightness, a pliancy, and a tone that further intensify the feelings running through them. Amarcord d’un Tango was created to offer the listener a brief journey through the history of the tango. Composed in 1903, Villoldo’s El choclo is one of the oldest examples of the genre. The well-known melodic tangos "Por una cabeza" and "Sus ojos se cerraron" are by the great singer Carlos Gardel, who died tragically in a plane accident, in 1935. I include a homage to Astor Piazzolla, on the thirtieth anniversary of his death. The album opens with his Triunfal, the piece that, thanks to Nadia Boulanger, created awareness and spurred the metamorphosis of Piazzolla’s “nuevo tango”. It represents the ideal point of embarkation.’
The songs on this album could be described as fiery, sensual, gripping, as well as graceful and elegant. The album features tangos, waltzes and milongas, both instrumental and sung, from the pens of the old masters as well as new contemporary composers. The tango is an almost universal music and dance style. It is an authentic and lively expression of everyday experiences and feelings. The famous tango composer Enrique Santos Discepolo described the authentic, graceful and expressive tango as “a sad thought, which can be danced;” another author described it as “two serious faces and four funny legs.” The tango was born on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, in poor neighborhoods where the families of European immigrants settled down in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Since the 1980s, a renewed interest in the national Argentine musical tradition has triggered a revival of the genre.
The practice of pairing music with poetry has a long history. Setting verse to music has become a way to amplify the emotional impact of the writers' words. Argentinean percussionist and composer Minino Garay created a recording, Speaking Tango, that uses poetry to find the essence of the Argentinean tango in contemporary music, something that has been attempted in the genre at least since poet Horacio Ferrer collaborated with Astor Piazzolla.
(2-CD set) Tango - one of the strongest forms of popular artistic expression in South America, genuine world music from the very beginning of the XXth century, which combines the gitano hoarseness of Andalusia, the melodic style of Italy and the expression of Central Europe, and yet it's true cultural identity lies in Buenos Aires. This Latin tale of dance and desire, illustrated with 36 titles, is related by Philippe Lesage. -
Trio Hugo Diaz: 20 Best of Classical Tango Argentino
ARC Music
CD
$13.99Mar 29, 2011
The Hugo Diaz Trio consisted of the late Hugo Diaz on bandoneon, Miguel Angel Ledesma on piano and Horacio Cabarcos on bass. This is a minimum ensemble, but their sound is full, largely due to the full and rich sound production of Diaz and the robust playing of Ledesma. Most of the pieces are fairly short and never outstay their welcome and are mostly from the 1920s - 1940s, although every piece sounds up to date in Diaz's hands. (As a special treat is a jazzy version of 'Por una Cabeza', the tango made famous in America by the movie Scent of a Woman.) Many tunes on this album are dramatic, musically interesting and just plain danceable fun. 'A Orillas del Plata' betrays a deep jazz influence that is very pleasant to listen to. 'La Racha' is a bit slower than most of the other numbers, but it swoops and pounces with the best of them. One slight caveat: The last three tracks on the disc are for solo bandoneon and that will not charm everyone. Still, this album will appeal to lovers of traditional tango as well as followers of tango outcast Astor Piazzolla.
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) not only modernized the Argentinean tango tradition but also incorporated it into the contemporary music.
For New Danish Saxophone Quartet whose repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary, Piazzolla’s compositions have always been the showstoppers of their concerts. It was quite natural for them to compile a Piazzolla tango album as their second CD (earlier release KPT 32051 “Contemporary Music For Saxophone Quartet”).
New Danish Saxophone Quartet founded in 1986 by four leading Danish saxophonists is one of the most sought after ensembles in Europe. They perform regularly at major festivals and concert halls.
“...collectively and individually, this foursome is an extremely competent group of musicians!” (Saxophone Journal)
The Tango Lesson (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Sony Masterworks
CD
$11.98Oct 14, 1997
The greatest hits of tango are now packaged as the soundtrack to a new film by award-winning director Sally Potter (Orlando). The Tango Lesson film features extraordinary Argentinean dancer Pablo Veron, and the soundtrack contains some of the greatest tango performances ever recorded (by Astor Piazzolla, the Klezmatics, Osvaldo Pugliese and others), plus a track from best-selling cellist Yo-Yo Ma. CD packaging is a deluxe digipak with info about the film, and about tango music and artists in general.
An album on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Astor Piazzolla. The arde Trio offers two world premieres on its debut release: Fresh and new arrangements by Omar Massa, which are congenially embodied by the unusual instrumentation of the arde Trio, allow not only the great "classics" of Tango Nuevo music to resound anew on this album, but also the new compositions of Omar Massa, who leads Tango Nuevo into the 21st century and is described by the press as the secret successor of the great Astor Piazzolla. Experience a fascinating journey through time!
Importango's Debut Release, Tango for Import, Is Also the First Release on Panoramic Recordings, a New Division of New Focus Recordings Dedicated to a Wide Continuum of Stylistic Diversity. The New York Based Trio - Guitarist Adam Tully, Violinist Machiko Ozawa, and Pianist Octavio Brunetti - Has Been a Fixture in the City's Vibrant, Close Knit Tango Community for Several Years. Importango's Mission Is to Deliver Authentic Tango to Their Audiences, Proudly Standing on the Shoulders of This Rich Musical Tradition. Their Atypical Instrumentation and Diverse Backgrounds Put Them in a Unique Position to Present the Real Tango from a Fresh Perspective, with the Virtuosity Passion, and Respect the Music Demands. Tragically, Octavio Brunetti Passed Away Suddenly from Illness During the Summer of 2014, Just As This Project Was Nearing Completion. Tango for Import Is Being Released in His Honor and in Gratitude for His Transcendent Musicianship.
Escualdo: Masters of Tango Violin / Fernando & Leonardo Suarez Paz
Azica Records
CD
$9.49$18.99Save 50%Jul 29, 2016
Fernando Suarez Paz joined the Quinteto Nuevo Tango at the request of Astor Piazzolla in 1978, and he toured with the ensemble until their disbandment in 1988. In his decade of performing alongside Piazzolla, Paz recorded 18 albums all over the world. The first track on this album, Escualo by Piazzolla, is dedicated to Fernando Suarez Paz. The New York Times gave Paz a 7-star rating after his performances alongside vibraphonist Gary Burton at various jazz festivals across Europe, Japan, and the United States. Fernando’s son, Leonardo Suarez Paz is featured on this release. Leonardo grew up alongside Astor Piazzolla and was mentored by both Piazzolla and his father. He directs tango projects all over the globe, and his productions have appeared in such venues as the Lincoln Center in New York, and the Teatro Colon Opera House in Buenos Aires.
The tango originated circa 1890 in the harbor area of Buenos Aires where musicians performed “a la parrilla” (improvised). Now the tango is a nostalgic, exciting music that has developed into a sound and dance passionately reminiscent of Argentina. Guillermo Destaillats was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1970. At the age of sixteen he began to study music, starting off with piano at the Conservatorio Nacional. Although born in Buenos Aires, it was Germany that Guillermo heard tango for the first time in his life. It was the orchestra of Leopoldo Federico with Julio Sosa as a singer. He was eleven years old then, and it took eleven more years before he started learning the bandoneon, which he took up in 1992, studying with Enrique Fasuolo. In 1993, Guillermo formed Pantango together with Fernando Rubin Saglia. Saglia was born in Buenos Aires in 1968. He began studying music at the age of 20 at the Conservatorio Nacional and the Escuela de Musica Popular de Avellaneda. Michael Elvermann was born in Germany. He played clarinet in the local brass band, both self-taught and with some tuition. In 1983 he studied with Geza Komjathy at the music school in Dorsten. He joined Pantango in May 1993.
Hugo Díaz counts as one of the greatest bandoneon players of his or any generation. On this album he plays tangos as well as baroque classics by the likes of Bach and Frescobaldi, all with the brilliance and flair that became his hallmark. Díaz was an outstanding technician and through determination and discipline, together with profound feelings, he was able to feel and convey all the facets of the tango in all it's multicolored nuances. He played the music with an extraordinary depth of expression and temperament - even the softest notes and the silences. The bandoneon is the soul of the tango. In Hugo Diaz's hands it lends itself to expressing a rainbow of feelings and emotions in a brilliant variety of styles.
Daniel Barenboim will turn 80 on November 15th. We are celebrating the great musician, who has had tremendous success since the 60s both at the piano or conducting, with an album made in the mid-90s that is close to his heart and Argentinian origins, though aside of the classical repertoire. Tangos Among Friends - Mi Buenos Aires Querido (named after a tango by Carlos Gardel) proves again all the talent and swing Daniel Barenboim has, and has been a huge success since released by Teldec on CD in 1996. We have revamped the album on a vinyl release, with updated tracklist (to fit on one LP), new album name and packshot. "I spent the first nine years of my life in Argentina and only in Argentina. The rest of the world was far away. Everything Argentinian was close to my heart. The concepts of cosmopolitan existence or international thinking were not yet awakened. The air that I breathed was Buenos Aires, the language that I spoke was Spanish porteno and the rhythm to which I danced (figuratively speaking...) was the tango! My idol was Carlos Gardel. Nearly half a century later I came back not only to Argentina, not only to my childhood but especially to my Buenos Aires querido and many other wonderful melodies that make up this sentimental record."
This recording features original compositions from practically all the band members and highlights the diversity of styles in composition as well as performance. You will surely enjoy a journey, from a funky tango, as the title suggests, to Peruvian rhythms on "Mariela's Dream" to the elegant Cuban "Contradanza", by the way of bolero, to the waltz, samba, milonga, to the final return of the jazz standard "Giant Steps".
Legendary tango performer and composer Astor Piazzolla gained experience of jazz in New York and classical form and technique through studies with Alberto Ginastera. His work lends itself perfectly to arrangement for all kinds of ensemble, and this is the first recording with solo trombone. These popular pieces showcase the stunning playing of multi-award winning soloist Achilles Liarmakopoulos in a variety of moods, including the famous Oblivion, and Le Grand Tango, a virtuoso show-stopper originally written for cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.
'I haven't sat right through a CD of tangos until this one. Greek trombonist Achilles Liarmakopoulos, who plays with Canadian Brass, is an astonishing player, a musician of extraordinary subtlety and understatement. With the sweetest, most seductive tone imaginable, he glides through the Piazzolla classics, including the full Histoire du Tango, all three movements of the beautiful Serie del Angel, Michelangelo, Oblivion and a heart-wrenching, soulful rendition of Soledad. His group, including the great bandoneon player Hector del Curto, is superlative. An outstanding disc.' (Herald Scotland)
