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Piazzolla Astor 1921 - 1992 (71)

For me, tango was always for the ear rather than the feet.


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Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) was an Argentine musician and composer, the creator of the new "nuevo" tango, which combines elements of jazz and classical music. He is considered one of the greatest Latin American composers of the 20th century.

He was the only child of an Italian immigrant family, born on March 11, 1921 in Mar del Plata, Argentina. In 1925 he moved with his family to Greenwich Village, New York, which at the time was a violent neighborhood. He spend many hours alone at home while his paretns were working hard, he listened to his father's records and came in contact with jazz and classical music. In 1929 his father bought him a bandoneon and he learned how to play it. When his family returned to Mar del Plata, he began playing with various orchestras. At the age of 17 he moved to Buenos Aires and in 1946 formed his own orchestra, composing new works and experimenting with the sound and structure of the tango. At the same time he began composing music for the cinema.

In 1949 he disbanded his orchestra, and having won a composition competition with the symphonic piece "Buenos Aires" (1951), went to study in Paris. From that time he began to combine in his compositions his two musical passions, tango and classical music, a fact that brought strong criticism from traditional tango musicians. When he returned to Argentina he formed the band "Quinteto Nuevo Tango" (1960 ), with violin, electric guitar, piano, double bass and bandoneon. Many of his compositions were written for this quintet, he also composed pieces for orchestra and for large bands. His innovations, in contrast, rhythm and harmony, were not initially welcomed in his homeland, but were much admired in the US and Europe. In 1967 he composed his popular operetta "Maria of Buenos Aires" ("María de Buenos Aires"), in libretto by the poet Horace Ferrer and in 1974 "Libertango", his most famous composition.

In 1974 he settled in Paris and in 1985 he returned to Argentina. Piazzolla's new tango (nuevo tango) gradually gained acceptance in Argentina, and his music influenced a new generation of composers during the 1970s and 1980s, in films, television programs, and commercials. He died on July 4, 1992, in Buenos Aires.

Biographers estimate that Piazzolla composed about 3,000 pieces, of which he recorded about 500. His many compositions include orchestral works such as "Concierto para Bandoneón, Orquesta, Cuerdas y Percusión", "Doble-Concierto y Bandoneó" Guitarra ”, the“ Tres Tangos Sinfónicos ”and the“ Concierto de Nácar para 9 Tanguistas y Orquesta