大象传媒

Donald Macleod charts the ups and downs of Astor Piazzolla鈥檚 years in Rome, where a fresh new start didn鈥檛 quite turn out as he hoped.

All his life he fought against the tide, and in the end, he was the victor. Born in 1921, Astor Piazzolla was a rebel with a cause. A virtuoso bandoneon player and a composer, he set out to break tango free from its roots, and make it a music with a future far beyond the dance halls and cafes of 1950s Buenos Aires. Hits like 鈥淟ibertango鈥� and collaborations with jazz giants like Gary Burton and Gerry Mulligan made his name beyond the tango world, while his classical compositions brought his instrument, the bandoneon, and him critical acclaim in the concert hall. The secret of his musical technique came, he said, from his studies with French pedagogue, Nadia Boulanger and Argentinian composer, Alberto Ginastera but there was a third teacher: Buenos Aires, the city which taught him the secrets of tango.
Across the week Donald Macleod traces Astor Piazzolla鈥檚 life through five formative locations, New York, Buenos Aires, Paris, Rome and Punta del Este, the coastal resort where he would spend the summer, relaxing and composing.

A heart attack and the loss of funding for his band encouraged Piazzolla to seek new pastures. Together with his partner, the tango singer Amelita Baltar, he set up shop in the Eternal City. A new deal with an agent, and some interesting projects beckoned, yet Piazzolla would later describe these years as being full of bad memories.

Michelangelo 70
Astor Piazzolla, bandoneon
Jaime Gosis, piano
Antonio Agri, violin
Hugo Baralis, violin
Victor Pontino, cello
Nestor Panik, viola
Kicho Diaz, double bass
Cacho Tirao, guitar
Arturo Schneider, flute
Jos猫 Correale, percussion
Tito Bisio, vibraharp, xylophone, carillon

Amelitango
Astor Piazzolla, bandoneon
Horacio Malvicino, electric guitar
Juan Carlos Cirigliano, piano
Alberto Cevasco, electric bass
Santiago Giacobbe, organ
Enrique Roizner, percussion
Daniel Piazzolla, synthesiser and percussion
Arturo Schneider, saxophone and flute

Maria de Buenos Aires (excerpt)
Scenes 4 to 6
Valentina Montoya Mart铆nez, Maria
Juanjo Lopez Vidal, the Duende, narrator
Nicholas Mulroy, vocal, sleepy Buenos Aires sparrow
Mr. McFall鈥檚 Chamber
Victor Villena, musical director and bandone贸n

Summit
Close your eyes and listen
Gerry Mulligan, baritone sax
Astor Piazzolla, bandoneon
Angel 鈥淧ocho鈥� Gatti, piano, organ
Tullio de Piscopo, drums
Giuseppe Prestipino, electric bass
Alberto Baldani, Gianni Zilioli, marimba
Filippo Dacco, Bruno de Fillippi, electric guitar
Ennio Miori, first cello

3 Movimientos Tanguisticos Portenos (1963)
Tango No. 1. Allegretto - Meno mosso e pesante
W眉rttembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen
Gabriel Castagna, conductor

Tristezas de un Doble A
Astor Piazzolla, bandoneon
Fernando Su谩rez Paz, violin
Pablo Ziegler, piano
Oscar L贸pez Ruiz, electric guitar
H茅ctor Console, bass

Producer: Johannah Smith, 大象传媒 Wales