Piazzolla: History of Tango

There are not as many original pieces for the flute as for the violin or piano, but there are some great pieces hidden in unexpected places.

Have you heard of the composer Astor Piazzolla (1921 – 92)? Yes, he is a XNUMXth century composer who wrote many tangos. He studied under Nadia Boulanger at the Fontainebleau Conservatoire and made many efforts to elevate tango to a form that could be performed in the concert hall.

Piazzolla received a government scholarship and had two children.¹In 1954, at the age of 33, he left his parents and went to Paris to study with Boulanger. By that time, he had grown tired of bandoneon tango and felt that classical music was his way of life, so he performed pieces inspired by classical music for Boulanger. However, it was when Piazzolla played "Triunfal" that Boulanger finally gave in. She pointed out that his talent lay in tango. This was the historic encounter between classical music and tango.

Under Boulanger, Piazzolla learned classical techniques, including counterpoint, and developed a style of playing the bandoneon while standing with one foot on a chair, when performing with the Paris Opera Orchestra.²It was around this time that he discovered a jazz octet, which inspired him to form his own octet after returning to Buenos Aires, which became the foundation of chamber music in the world of tango.

However, this new movement was not well received by the conservatives in Argentina. He then moved to New York and began traveling back and forth between Buenos Aires and other parts of the world. He produced many songs, including the opera "Maria de Buenos Aires," but in 1973 he suffered a heart attack. That same year he moved to Rome, where he was given a 15-year contract by Aldo Pagani to record all the songs he had written and would write in the future. This led to the creation of masterpieces such as "Libertango."

It wasn't until 1980, at the age of 59, that he earned enough money to play his favorite pieces for the first time in his life. That year he began to write ambitious multi-movement pieces, one of which was "History of Tango". "History of Tango" was dedicated to flutist Marc Grauwels and premiered by him and guitarist Guy Lukowski.³The piece is in four movements for flute and guitar, each one showing the evolution of the tango over a 30-year period, with Piazzolla himself providing the program notes.

Table of Contents

1900st Movement: 1900: Brothel (Bordello, XNUMX)

The original tango was created in Buenos Aires in 1882. It was originally written for flute and guitar, as is the entire "History of Tango." The music is full of grace and vigor, and is performed by prostitutes from France, Italy and Spain.⁴The tango depicts the way the two women seduce and tease the policemen, thieves, sailors and scoundrels who come to see them. It's a spirited tango. According to the flutist who performed the premiere, Marc Grauwels, the fourth note in the opening phrase (the high e) is the whistle of a policeman raiding a brothel.recordingSo I'm blowing this E note with a long hold.)

1930nd Movement: Café, 1930

In 1930, people stopped dancing tango as they did in 1900, and tango changed from music to dance to music to listen to. As a result, tango became more musical and more romantic. This was a complete transformation. The movements were slower and full of novel and melancholic harmonies. Tango orchestras at that time were composed of two violins, two concertos, a piano, and a bass, and sometimes singers were also added.⁵

1960rd Movement: Nightclub, 1960

In the 1960s, international exchanges between people increased at a tremendous rate. Tango also underwent a major transformation when Brazil and Argentina met in Buenos Aires, and bossa nova and new tango began to share the same rhythm. Audiences flocked to nightclubs to listen to the new tango. This period could be said to be a time of tango revolution. Thus, modern tango underwent a major change from the original tango.⁶

1990th Movement: XNUMX: The Modern Concert Hall (Concert d'aujourd'hui)

Here, the concept of tango music is mixed with Bartok, Stravinsky and other contemporary music. Atonality and tonality are mixed. The motif from the first movement is used. "This is the tango of the present and future" (Astor Piazzolla).⁷ ⁸

Other formations

Finally, a slightly different version for flute and marimba. It's quite good.

Replacing guitar with a marimba can work quite well depending on the song.

Articles in the Music category

footnote

Diana (11), Daniel (10)
Until then, all bandoneon players played while sitting.
Astor Piazzolla – Histoire du Tango: Marc Grauwels Astoria Booklet
In the 1900s, Argentina was one of the world's leading economic powers and extremely wealthy. In 1913, its per capita national income was 10th in the world. At the time, Japan's was US$1387, while Argentina's was over US$5900 (calculated backwards from data showing that Argentina's per capita GDP at the time was 3/4 of that of the United States). In 2015, Japan was 26th. So people flocked to the country from all over the world. (Source) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_Argentina#/media/File:GDP_per_capita_of_Argentina,_percent_of_US_(1900-2008).png
(Source) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_du_Tango
(Source) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_du_Tango
(Source) Piazzolla, Astor. Liner notes to Song & Dance of the Americas with Bonita Boyd (flute) and Nicholas Goluses (guitar), recorded at Red Creek Studio, Rochester, Spring and Summer 2009, compact disc.
(Source) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_du_Tango

@_Nat Zone

Piazzolla: The History of Tango