Astor Piazzolla (March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango comp… Read Full Bio ↴Astor 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. An excellent bandoneonist, he regularly performed his own compositions with different ensembles. He is known in his native land as "El Gran Astor" ("The Great Astor").
Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina in 1921 to immigrant Italian parents, Piazzolla spent most of his childhood with his family in New York City. While there, he acquired fluency in four languages: Spanish, English, French, and Italian. He also started playing the bandoneon, quickly rising to the status of child prodigy. While still quite young, he met Carlos Gardel, another great figure of Argentine tango. He returned to Argentina in 1937, where strictly traditional tango still reigned, and played in night clubs with a series of groups. The pianist Arthur Rubinstein (then living in Buenos Aires) advised him to study with the Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera. Delving into scores of Stravinsky, Bartók, Ravel, and others, he gave up tango temporarily and worked as a modernist classical composer.
At Ginastera's urging, in 1953 Piazzolla entered his "Buenos Aires" Symphony in a composition contest, and won a grant from the French government to study in Paris with the French composer and conductor Nadia Boulanger. The insightful Boulanger turned his life around in a day, as Piazzolla tells beautifully in his own words:
"When I met her, I showed her my kilos of symphonies and sonatas. She started to read them and suddenly came out with a horrible sentence: ‘It's very well written.’ And stopped, with a big period, round like a soccer ball. After a long while, she said: “Here you are like Stravinsky, like Bartók, like Ravel, but you know what happens? I can't find Piazzolla in this.” And she began to investigate my private life: what I did, what I did and did not play, if I was single, married, or living with someone, she was like an FBI agent! And I was very ashamed to tell her that I was a tango musician. Finally I said, “I play in a ‘night club.’” I didn't want to say “cabaret.” And she answered, “Night club, mais oui, but that is a cabaret, isn't it?” “Yes,” I answered, and thought, “I'll hit this woman in the head with a radio....” It wasn't easy to lie to her.
She kept asking: “You say that you are not pianist. What instrument do you play, then?” And I didn't want to tell her that I was a bandoneon player, because I thought, “Then she will throw me from the fourth floor.” Finally, I confessed and she asked me to play some bars of a tango of my own. She suddenly opened her eyes, took my hand and told me: “You idiot, that's Piazzolla!” And I took all the music I composed, ten years of my life, and sent it to hell in two seconds."
Piazzolla returned to Argentina in 1955, formed the Octeto Buenos Aires to play tangos, and never looked back.
Upon introducing his new approach to the tango (nuevo tango), he became a controversial figure among Argentines both musically and politically. The Argentine saying "in Argentina everything may change — except the tango" suggests some of the resistance he found in his native land. However, his music gained acceptance in Europe and North America, and his reworking of the tango was embraced by some liberal segments of Argentine society, who were pushing for political changes in parallel to his musical revolution.
During the period of Argentine military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983, Piazzolla lived in France, but returned many times to Argentina, recorded there, and on at least one occasion had lunch with the dictator Jorge Rafael Videla. However, his relationship with the dictator might have been less than friendly, as recounted in Astor Piazzolla, A manera de Memorias (a comprehensive collection of interviews, constituting a memoir):
In 1990 he suffered a thrombosis in Paris and he passed away two years later in Buenos Aires.
Piazzolla's nuevo tango was distinct from the traditional tango in its incorporation of elements of jazz, its use of extended harmonies and dissonance, its use of counterpoint, and its ventures into extended compositional forms. Piazzolla also introduced new instruments that were not used in the traditional tango, including the flute, saxophone, electric guitar, electronic instruments, and a full jazz/rock drum kit.
Piazzolla played with numerous ensembles beginning with the 1946 Orchestra, the 1955 "Octeto Buenos Aires", the 1960 "First Quintet", the 1971 "Noneto", the 1978 "Second Quintet" and the 1989 "Sextet". As well as providing original compositions and arrangements, he was the director and Bandoneon player in all of them. He also recorded an album with jazz sax player Gerry Mulligan. His numerous compositions include orchestral work such as the "Concierto para Bandoneón, Orquesta, Cuerdas y Percusión", "Doble-Concierto para Bandoneón y Guitarra", "Tres Tangos Sinfónicos" and "Concierto de Nácar para 9 Tanguistas y Orquesta", as well as song-form compositions that still today are well known by the general public in his country, like "Balada para un loco" (Ballad for a madman) and "Adiós Nonino" (dedicated to his father) which he recorded many times with different musicians and ensembles. Biographers estimate that Piazzolla wrote around 3,000 pieces and recorded around 500.
He suffered a cerebral haemorrhage in Paris on 4 August 1990, which left him in a coma, and died in Buenos Aires, just under two years later on 4 July 1992, without regaining consciousness.
other albums not listed here
~ The Birth of Tango Nuevo, Vol. 1 - Sinfonia de Tango
~ Mis 30 Mejores Tangos
~ Piazzolla Interpreta A. Piazzolla (Original Album - Remastered)
~ Ensayos
~ Tiempo Nuevo
~ Se Armó
~ El Milrago - The Early Recordings, Vol. 2 (Astor Piazzolla With His First Own Orchestra, So Called 1946 Band.)
~ Tango Moderno
Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina in 1921 to immigrant Italian parents, Piazzolla spent most of his childhood with his family in New York City. While there, he acquired fluency in four languages: Spanish, English, French, and Italian. He also started playing the bandoneon, quickly rising to the status of child prodigy. While still quite young, he met Carlos Gardel, another great figure of Argentine tango. He returned to Argentina in 1937, where strictly traditional tango still reigned, and played in night clubs with a series of groups. The pianist Arthur Rubinstein (then living in Buenos Aires) advised him to study with the Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera. Delving into scores of Stravinsky, Bartók, Ravel, and others, he gave up tango temporarily and worked as a modernist classical composer.
At Ginastera's urging, in 1953 Piazzolla entered his "Buenos Aires" Symphony in a composition contest, and won a grant from the French government to study in Paris with the French composer and conductor Nadia Boulanger. The insightful Boulanger turned his life around in a day, as Piazzolla tells beautifully in his own words:
"When I met her, I showed her my kilos of symphonies and sonatas. She started to read them and suddenly came out with a horrible sentence: ‘It's very well written.’ And stopped, with a big period, round like a soccer ball. After a long while, she said: “Here you are like Stravinsky, like Bartók, like Ravel, but you know what happens? I can't find Piazzolla in this.” And she began to investigate my private life: what I did, what I did and did not play, if I was single, married, or living with someone, she was like an FBI agent! And I was very ashamed to tell her that I was a tango musician. Finally I said, “I play in a ‘night club.’” I didn't want to say “cabaret.” And she answered, “Night club, mais oui, but that is a cabaret, isn't it?” “Yes,” I answered, and thought, “I'll hit this woman in the head with a radio....” It wasn't easy to lie to her.
She kept asking: “You say that you are not pianist. What instrument do you play, then?” And I didn't want to tell her that I was a bandoneon player, because I thought, “Then she will throw me from the fourth floor.” Finally, I confessed and she asked me to play some bars of a tango of my own. She suddenly opened her eyes, took my hand and told me: “You idiot, that's Piazzolla!” And I took all the music I composed, ten years of my life, and sent it to hell in two seconds."
Piazzolla returned to Argentina in 1955, formed the Octeto Buenos Aires to play tangos, and never looked back.
Upon introducing his new approach to the tango (nuevo tango), he became a controversial figure among Argentines both musically and politically. The Argentine saying "in Argentina everything may change — except the tango" suggests some of the resistance he found in his native land. However, his music gained acceptance in Europe and North America, and his reworking of the tango was embraced by some liberal segments of Argentine society, who were pushing for political changes in parallel to his musical revolution.
During the period of Argentine military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983, Piazzolla lived in France, but returned many times to Argentina, recorded there, and on at least one occasion had lunch with the dictator Jorge Rafael Videla. However, his relationship with the dictator might have been less than friendly, as recounted in Astor Piazzolla, A manera de Memorias (a comprehensive collection of interviews, constituting a memoir):
In 1990 he suffered a thrombosis in Paris and he passed away two years later in Buenos Aires.
Piazzolla's nuevo tango was distinct from the traditional tango in its incorporation of elements of jazz, its use of extended harmonies and dissonance, its use of counterpoint, and its ventures into extended compositional forms. Piazzolla also introduced new instruments that were not used in the traditional tango, including the flute, saxophone, electric guitar, electronic instruments, and a full jazz/rock drum kit.
Piazzolla played with numerous ensembles beginning with the 1946 Orchestra, the 1955 "Octeto Buenos Aires", the 1960 "First Quintet", the 1971 "Noneto", the 1978 "Second Quintet" and the 1989 "Sextet". As well as providing original compositions and arrangements, he was the director and Bandoneon player in all of them. He also recorded an album with jazz sax player Gerry Mulligan. His numerous compositions include orchestral work such as the "Concierto para Bandoneón, Orquesta, Cuerdas y Percusión", "Doble-Concierto para Bandoneón y Guitarra", "Tres Tangos Sinfónicos" and "Concierto de Nácar para 9 Tanguistas y Orquesta", as well as song-form compositions that still today are well known by the general public in his country, like "Balada para un loco" (Ballad for a madman) and "Adiós Nonino" (dedicated to his father) which he recorded many times with different musicians and ensembles. Biographers estimate that Piazzolla wrote around 3,000 pieces and recorded around 500.
He suffered a cerebral haemorrhage in Paris on 4 August 1990, which left him in a coma, and died in Buenos Aires, just under two years later on 4 July 1992, without regaining consciousness.
other albums not listed here
~ The Birth of Tango Nuevo, Vol. 1 - Sinfonia de Tango
~ Mis 30 Mejores Tangos
~ Piazzolla Interpreta A. Piazzolla (Original Album - Remastered)
~ Ensayos
~ Tiempo Nuevo
~ Se Armó
~ El Milrago - The Early Recordings, Vol. 2 (Astor Piazzolla With His First Own Orchestra, So Called 1946 Band.)
~ Tango Moderno
Tanguedia III
Astor Piazzolla Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Astor Piazzolla:
20 Years Ago Can you lick my wounds please? Can you make it numb? And…
A Don Nicanor Paredes Venga un rasgueo y ahora, con el permiso de ustedes, le esto…
Adios Nonino Desde una estrella al titilar... Me hará señales de acudir, …
Aire De Buenos Aires ES…
Aria de los analistas Pasen a ver, caballeros Cosas jamás nunca vistas Traeremos l…
Balada para mi muerte Moriré en Buenos Aires, será de madrugada, guardaré mansamen…
Balada para un loco Las tardecitas de Buenos Aires tienen ese qué sé yo,…
Ballada para Mi Muerte Moriré en Buenos Aires, será de madrugada Guardaré, mansamen…
Barrio de Tango Un pedazo de barrio, alla en Pompeya, Durmiendose al costado…
Cafetin de Buenos Aires De chiquilín te miraba de afuera, como esas cosas que nunca…
Chique ES…
ChiquilÃn De Bachin Por las noches, caras sucias de angelito con bluyín vende ro…
Chiquilín de Bachín Por las noches, cara sucia de angelito con bluyín, vende ros…
Chiquilin De Bacin Por las noches, caras sucias de angelito con bluyín vende ro…
Contramilonga A La Funerala El duende (dicho) María de Buenos Aires Murió por primera v…
Cristal Tengo el corazón hecho pedazos, Rota mi emoción en este día.…
Cuesta Abajo Si arrastré por estemundo la vergüenza de habersido y el d…
Dando Vueltas En El Aire Cada vez que nos peleamos Cada vez que estamos bien Cada v…
Del Bajo Fondo ES…
El gordo triste Por su pinta poeta de gorri�n con gomina, por su voz…
Fuimos ES…
Garua Lastima bandoneón, mi corazón Tu ronca maldición maleva Tu…
Inspiración ES…
L'amour Quand je te vois passer, ô ma chère indolente, cu chant…
La Muralla de China A semejanza De otras noches Recordar palabras extrañas De un…
La Ultima Curda Lastima bandoneón, mi corazón Tu ronca maldición maleva Tu…
La Ultima Grela Lastima bandoneón, mi corazón Tu ronca maldición maleva Tu l…
Libertango [Instrumental]…
Los pájaros perdidos Amo los pajaros perdidos que vuelven desde el más allá a con…
Melancolico Bueno Aires ES…
Pequeña Cancion para Matilde Las olas van El viento esparce azul y olor Yo con amor,…
Preludio para el año 3001 Renaceré en Buenos Aires, en otra tarde de Junio Con estas…
Resurrecion del Angel ES…
Revirado Dies Lied ist mein Leben Es fing so gut an. Ich hatte…
Rinascero Io rinascerò un′altra volta In una sera di giugno Con questa…
Siempre Paris ES…
Sur San Juan y Boedo antiguo y todo el cielo, Pompeya y,…
Sur: Los Sueños San Juan y Boedo antiguo y todo el cielo, Pompeya y,…
Tango Tango Music Just mucic Music only, and only music Music aga…
Tango Del Ángel ES…
Tango-Tango Tango Music just mucic music only, and only music music aga…
Triste ES…
Vamos niña No te avergüences, Nina, no ¿De qué vergüenza entenderá El m…
Vamos, niña No te avergüences, Nina, no, ¿de qué vergüenza entenderá el …
Volver Yo adivino el parpadeo De las luces que a lo lejos Van…
Vuelvo al sur Vuelvo al Sur, como se vuelve siempre al amor, vuelvo a vos,…
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@vers1fier
I love how there is no percussion, the syncopation of all the instruments is aligned with the pulse of the time signature.
@MichaelJames-yc3xx
some hellacious good musicians to play this music fabulous album the whole thing!
@mantisarg7896
Genial
@pitterpattern
Ha, yes, I like to sound of a bandoneon over an accordion aswell. One could say the bandoneon is more difficult to play..no keyboard, just buttons. Eddy Louiss and Richard Galliano "Face to Face" - great album, B3 organ & accor/bando.
@emiliocallies2712
while most accordeons do have keyboard, it is not difficult to find an accordion with buttons. What the keybaod gains from its recognizable structure, buttons wins in the wider range. They both have their difficulties and victories. so the bandeon isn't more difficult to play for that reason, more because you don't have a great hold over the bandoneon, while the accodion is attached to your back and schoulders.
@Wanderlaughter1
I am definitely not an accordion fan. I'd heard the schmaltzy efforts of pseudo-French stuff, and loathed it. This guy is a revelation and a half. Not only does he get the tones right, he focuses on dynamics, notably lacking in those tedious stereotypes. Until I heard this, I could only tolerate some Zydeco. This would work with Grappelli and any top quality jazz.
@Grudolfof
This is not an accordion. Clean your ears.
@paulwallis7586
@Rodolfo Fuentes Let's nitpick about it, eh? Same family. I was talking about the phrasing, and mind your manners.
@borntobone
Listening in 2020
@ronaldo.araujo
sabe deus...