大象传媒

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of the bandoneon virtuoso and composer Astor Piazzolla, through five key locations.

All his life he fought against the tide, and in the end, he was the victor. 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 critical acclaim in the concert hall. The secrets of musical technique came, he said, from his studies with French pedagogue, Nadia Boulanger and Argentinian composer, Alberto Ginastera but they also came from his teenage experiences in Buenos Aires, the city where had played bandoneon and arranged music for Anibal Troilo鈥檚 famous tango band.

Across the week Donald Macleod traces Astor Piazzolla鈥檚 life through the places which played an important part in his musical development: New York, Buenos Aires, Paris, Rome and the Uraguayan resort of Punta del Este.

Music featured:
Tanguedia
Tres minutos con la Realidad
Piano sonata No 1, Op 7
Sideral
Requiem para un Malandra
Adios nonino
Concierto para quinteto
Buenos Aires hora cera (Buenos Aires zero hour)
El desbande
Tiernamente
El recodo
Histoire du Tango for flute and guitar
Balada para mi muerte
Sinfon铆a Buenos Aires, Op 15
Oto帽o porte帽o
Two pieces for clarinet and string orchestra
Triunfal
笔谤别辫谩谤别苍蝉别
Tangos, El Exilio de Gardel (excerpts from the original soundtrack)
Mumuki
Michelangelo 70
Amelitango
Maria de Buenos Aires (excerpt)
Summit
Close your eyes and listen
3 Movimientos Tanguisticos Portenos
Tristezas de un Doble A
Jeanne y Paul
Resurreccion del Angel
Concerto for bandoneon, string orchestra & percussion
Le Grand Tango
La Camorra II
Five Tango Sensations
Libertango

Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Johannah Smith for 大象传媒 Wales

For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Astor Piazzolla /programmes/m0003c6f

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we鈥檝e featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z