March 11
Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla
(March 11, 1921 – July 4, 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. A virtuoso
bandoneónist, he regularly performed his own compositions with a variety of
ensembles. In 1936, he returned with his family to Mar del Plata, where he
began to play in a variety of tango orchestras and around this time he
discovered the music of ElvinoVardaro’s sextet on the radio. Vardaro’s novel
interpretation of tango made a great impression on Piazzolla and years later he
would become Piazzolla’s violinist in his Orquesta de Cuerdas and his First
Quintet. Having disbanded his first orchestra in 1950 he almost abandoned tango
altogether as he continued to study Bartok and Stravinsky, and orchestra
direction with Herman Scherchen. He spent a lot of time listening to jazz and
searching for a musical style of his own beyond the realms of tango. He decided
to drop the bandoneon and to dedicate himself to writing and to studying music.
Between 1950 and 1954 he composed a series of works that began to develop his
unique style: Para lucirse, Tanguango, Prepárense, Contrabajeando, Triunfal and
Lo quevendrá…
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