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Naxos

Piazzolla: Tango Nuevo / Tomas Cotik, Tao Lin

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Details

Composer
PIAZZOLLA
Artist
Tao Lin, Tomas Cotik
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Nov 19, 2013
Catalog #
8573166
UPC
747313316670

About



PIAZZOLLA La muerte del ángel. Melodía en la menor. Tango en la menor. Milonga sin palabras. María de Buenos Aires: Fuga y misterio; Yo soy María 1. Ave María. Oblivion. 1 Aire de la zamba niña. Le Grand Tango. Libertango • Tomas Cotik, 1 Glenn Basham (vn); Tao Lin (pn) • NAXOS 8.573166 (59:35)


Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla (1921–1992) was an Argentine bandoneon player and composer who revolutionized tango music. He brought it from its beginnings as a 19th- and early 20th-century dance to its zenith as modern music for the concert hall. His concept of nuevo tango combined it with elements of jazz and classical music. Fanfare readers already know violinist Thomas Cotik and pianist Tao Lin for their Centaur recording of Schubert. Of course, they take in a completely different approach to the tangos on Naxos. Whereas their Schubert was smooth and silky, their Piazzolla is edgy, sexy, and raw. Cotik and Lin take us from Piazzolla’s Tanguano of 1951 to his 1986 description of a girl performing the Zamba, a native Argentine dance. In between, they document some of the myriad changes in the composer’s musical palette. His fast and rhythmic The Death of the Angel was incidental music for a 1962 play that ended with the angel dying after his fight with a devil. In 1965 a new muse, Norma, tempted the composer who was in the process of divorcing. He thinks of Norma in his smooth Melody in A Minor, but refers to her as poison. The operetta Maria de Buenos Aires is one of Piazzolla’s best-known works. It was performed at Long Beach Opera in California in 2012. The two pieces played here accompany Maria’s wandering through the city of Buenos Aires, first as a streetwalker and later as a ghost. It is during the second stroll that we hear some of the composer’s most evocative music, played by the two violins and piano that accompany her. Glenn Basham of the University of Miami’s Frost Institute plays the second fiddle with a singing tone. Libertango is Piazzolla’s example of the new music of the 1970s. He intertwined rock and jazz influences with melodic tango and came up with a new and most viable form of concert music. By this time, the tango that had once been a dance from the wrong side of town had matured into modern classical music that would soon be played by symphony orchestras all over the world. Tango’s relative, the milonga, has come along with it, adding a bit of spice to the confection from Argentina.


In 1982, Piazzolla wrote his elegant Grand Tango and sent it to the great Russian cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich. The cellist did not recognize his name and set it aside. When he did eventually look at it, he was astonished at the composer’s talent, but it was not until eight years later that he premiered the work. Sofia Gubaidulina arranged the version heard here. The instrumental Ave Maria and the pleasant milonga Oblivion are pieces that Piazzolla wrote for the 1984 Italian film Henry V . The next year he began to write pieces detailing the history of tango from bordello dance music to international concert specialty. He follows its rise to the café, the nightclub, and the 1980s concert hall. Some of the music is sultry while other works are fast, rhythmic, and ornamented to show the exquisite virtuosity of Cotik and Lin. They finish with a rousing dance called Libertango . It is a perfect finale for this CD of catchy, toe-tapping music. Many other artists have recorded Piazzolla’s works, but not with violin and piano. The sound on this disc is clear and the performances precise. I think that lovers of tango music will definitely want this fascinating disc.


FANFARE: Maria Nockin

Tracklist 15 tracks

  1. 1 La Muerte del angel (arr. T. Cotik for violin and piano) 02:56
    Track
    1
    Title
    La Muerte del angel (arr. T. Cotik for violin and piano)
    Duration
    02:56
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Tao Lin
  2. 2 I. Bordel 1900 03:58
    Track
    2
    Title
    I. Bordel 1900
    Duration
    03:58
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Tao Lin
  3. 3 II. Cafe 1930 06:46
    Track
    3
    Title
    II. Cafe 1930
    Duration
    06:46
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Tao Lin
  4. 4 III. Nightclub 1960 05:04
    Track
    4
    Title
    III. Nightclub 1960
    Duration
    05:04
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Tao Lin
  5. 5 IV. Concert d'aujourd'hui 02:34
    Track
    5
    Title
    IV. Concert d'aujourd'hui
    Duration
    02:34
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Tao Lin
  6. 6 Melodia in A Minor (arr. T. Cotik for violin and piano) 02:54
    Track
    6
    Title
    Melodia in A Minor (arr. T. Cotik for violin and piano)
    Duration
    02:54
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Tao Lin
  7. 7 2 Piezas Breves: No. 1. Tanguango (arr. for violin and piano) 03:15
    Track
    7
    Title
    2 Piezas Breves: No. 1. Tanguango (arr. for violin and piano)
    Duration
    03:15
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Tao Lin
  8. 8 Milonga sin Palabras (arr. for violin and piano) 05:14
    Track
    8
    Title
    Milonga sin Palabras (arr. for violin and piano)
    Duration
    05:14
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Tao Lin
  9. 9 Maria de Buenos Aires: Fuga y misterio (arr. T. Cotik for violin and piano) 03:23
    Track
    9
    Title
    Maria de Buenos Aires: Fuga y misterio (arr. T. Cotik for violin and piano)
    Duration
    03:23
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Tao Lin
  10. 10 Tanti anni prima (arr. for violin and piano) 04:05
    Track
    10
    Title
    Tanti anni prima (arr. for violin and piano)
    Duration
    04:05
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Tao Lin
  11. 11 Maria de Buenos Aires: Yo soy Maria (arr. T. Cotik for 2 violins and piano) 03:06
    Track
    11
    Title
    Maria de Buenos Aires: Yo soy Maria (arr. T. Cotik for 2 violins and piano)
    Duration
    03:06
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Glenn Basham, Tao Lin
  12. 12 Oblivion (arr. T. Cotik for 2 violins and piano) 03:32
    Track
    12
    Title
    Oblivion (arr. T. Cotik for 2 violins and piano)
    Duration
    03:32
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Glenn Basham, Tao Lin
  13. 13 Aire de la Zamba Nina (arr. T. Cotik for violin and piano) 02:36
    Track
    13
    Title
    Aire de la Zamba Nina (arr. T. Cotik for violin and piano)
    Duration
    02:36
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Tao Lin
  14. 14 Le Grand Tango (arr. S. Gubaidulina for violin and piano) 07:32
    Track
    14
    Title
    Le Grand Tango (arr. S. Gubaidulina for violin and piano)
    Duration
    07:32
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Tao Lin
  15. 15 Libertango (arr. T. Cotik for violin and piano) 01:50
    Track
    15
    Title
    Libertango (arr. T. Cotik for violin and piano)
    Duration
    01:50
    Composer
    Astor Piazzolla
    Performer
    Tomás Cotik, Tao Lin