Notes for: July 19, 2022
Piazzolla and tango—the words are nearly synonymous. As a young composer Piazzolla hadn’t at first intended to spend his career focusing on Argentina’s native dance. But a fellowship to study with Nadia Boulanger in France changed everything for him. Boulanger was unimpressed with Piazzolla’s classical compositions – symphonies and sonatas inspired by Stravinsky, Ravel, Bartok, and other early 20th-century composers. But when she heard one of his tangos, she proclaimed, “That’s Piazzolla!” From then on, Piazzolla applied his classical training to experiments with the sound and structure of the tango, creating tradition-bending, appealingly original music that became known as the new tango.
In Histoire du Tango Piazzolla shows the history and evolution of the tango in all its variety, from the exuberant music of the 19th-century bordello, to the more subdued café music of the 1930s, to the rowdier music of mid-century nightclubs, to the modern-day concert tango. Piazzolla’s own program notes describe the musical journey:
Bordello, 1900: The tango originated in Buenos Aires in 1882. It was first played on the guitar and flute. Arrangements then came to include the piano, and later, the concertina. The music is full of grace and liveliness. It paints a picture of the good-natured chatter of the French, Italian, and Spanish women who peopled those bordellos as they teased the policemen, thieves, sailors, and riffraff who came to see them. This is a high-spirited tango.
Café, 1930: This is another age of the tango. People stopped dancing it as they did in 1900, preferring instead simply to listen to it. It became more musical, and more romantic. The tango has undergone total transformation: the movements are slower, with new and often melancholy harmonies. Tango orchestras come to consist of two violins, two concertinas, a piano, and a bass. The tango is sometimes sung as well.
Night Club, 1960: This is a time of rapidly expanding international exchange, and the tango evolves again as Brazil and Argentina come together in Buenos Aires. The bossa nova and the new tango are moving to the same beat. Audiences rush to the night clubs to listen earnestly to the new tango. This marks a revolution and a profound alteration in some of the original tango forms.
Modern-Day Concert: Certain concepts in tango music become intertwined with modern music. Bartok, Stravinsky, and other composers reminisce to the tune of tango music. This is today’s tango, and the tango of the future as well.