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Tangorama: An Anthology of 20th Century Tango, Vol. 1 / Miriam Conti
Grand Piano

Tangorama: An Anthology of 20th Century Tango, Vol. 1 / Miriam Conti

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Details

Composer
VARIOUS
Artist
Mirian Conti
Format
CD
Label
Grand Piano
Released
Jan 15, 2021
Catalog #
GP856
UPC
747313985623

About

This panoramic survey of Argentine tangos shows the genre in all its rich variety of moods and virtuosity. It salutes Angel Villoldo, the father of tango, whose El choclo (‘The Corncob’) is one of the most famous tangos of all time, and charts the music’s evolution towards the romanticism and lush harmonies of Augustín Bardi. Improvisatory styles, syncopation and jazz harmonies were introduced by such great composers as José Pascual and Orlando Goñi, whilst Enrique Francini developed his personal qualities of dissonance and rhythmic flair into the 1960s. This survey is the first in a series that will document around one hundred rare and classic tangos, all performed by the Argentine pianist Mirian Conti.

 

REVIEW:

 

Tangorama: a wonderful aural trip to the southernmost South American nation

Tangorama, Vol. 1 is the first of an upcoming series of tango albums lovingly selected and superbly played by the terrific Argentine-American pianist Mirian Conti. This first in the series features over two dozen gems that trace the development of the Argentine tango from its humble origins rooted in Afro-Argentine and Cuban-influenced dance forms birthed in the bars an dives on the shores of the River Plate to the sophisticated compositions of mid-20th century composer-performers that inflected the form with European harmonies and counterpoint while retaining the syncopated underpinning of the original dance form.

 

– Rafael's Music Notes (Rafael de Acha)

Argentine-American pianist and recording artist Mirian Conti has recently released her new solo album, Tangorama, performing a collection of 25 vintage tangos, written over the span of half a century. Tango originated in Argentina and Uruguay in the late 1800’s as immigrants poured in from all parts of Europe. They brought their music with them: waltzes, polkas and mazurkas, which blended with Cuban habanera and African candombe music and rhythms to create early forms of tango music and dance. These early years, from about 1895 to 1925, are known as Guardia Vieja, the Old Guard, when tango began to develop structure and identity. One of the early composers was Angel Villoldo (1861-1919), generally considered the father of the tango. Three of his tunes are included on this disc, all in early tango 2/4 duple meter. In 1903 Angel composed the well-known El Choclo, one of the best of the early tangos, which became a popular hit song again in 1952 as “Kiss of Fire”. Mirian performs these piano arrangements with a light, graceful touch and a delightful sense of rhythm, timing and phrasing. Another early tango is the famous La Cumparsita, the most popular tango ever written. It was composed in 1917 by Geraldo Matos Rodriguez (1897-1948), and originally written for a marching band. The tune is driven by the bold arrastre sound of slurring chords mixing with crisp staccatos.

The tango period known as Guardia Nueva, or New Guard, lasted roughly from 1925 to 1955. This included the Golden Age of the 1940’s, which was the hey-day of the big tango orchestras. Generally coinciding with the explosion of the Big Band era, tango began developing and maturing in form and complexity. Alfredo Gobbi (1912-1965) was a violinist and composer who wrote El Andariego in 1951. The tune features a smoother 4/8 meter, slower tempo, heavy rubato, and delicate staccato passages. From 1955 to 1970, tango went through an Avant-Garde period of development and began moving in new directions. Julian Plaza (1928-2003) was an outstanding musician and composer who wrote Melancolico in 1960 and Nostalgico in 1962. The tunes are intoxicating with dramatic tango rhythms, melodies and dissonant harmonic structures. Mirian presents them with beautiful dynamics and phrasing, meticulous keyboard technique and solid intuition.

This music was recorded on 15-24 September 2020 on two Yamaha Disklaviers, one each at Conti Studio in Buenos Aires and at Yamaha Artists Service in New York. Mirian Conti and G. Richard Glasford were the producers, and Aaron David Ross was the engineer. Joseph Patrych performed the mastering. A 28-page booklet is included, with photographs and commentary in Spanish and English. The sound quality is excellent.

--MusicWeb International (Bruce McCollum)

Tracklist 25 tracks

  1. 1 Re Fa Si (version for piano) 02:18
    Track
    1
    Title
    Re Fa Si (version for piano)
    Duration
    02:18
    Composer
    Enrique Delfino
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  2. 2 Armenonville (version for piano) 02:42
    Track
    2
    Title
    Armenonville (version for piano)
    Duration
    02:42
    Composer
    Juan Pacho Maglio
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  3. 3 El Porteñito (version for piano) 01:23
    Track
    3
    Title
    El Porteñito (version for piano)
    Duration
    01:23
    Composer
    Ángel Gregorio Villoldo
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  4. 4 El Choclo (version for piano) 01:48
    Track
    4
    Title
    El Choclo (version for piano)
    Duration
    01:48
    Composer
    Ángel Gregorio Villoldo
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  5. 5 Papas Calientes (version for piano) 01:53
    Track
    5
    Title
    Papas Calientes (version for piano)
    Duration
    01:53
    Composer
    Eduardo Arolas
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  6. 6 La Cumparsita (version for piano) 02:16
    Track
    6
    Title
    La Cumparsita (version for piano)
    Duration
    02:16
    Composer
    Gerardo Matos Rodríguez
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  7. 7 Flores Negras (version for piano) 02:32
    Track
    7
    Title
    Flores Negras (version for piano)
    Duration
    02:32
    Composer
    Francisco De Caro
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  8. 8 El Torito (version for piano) 01:27
    Track
    8
    Title
    El Torito (version for piano)
    Duration
    01:27
    Composer
    Ángel Gregorio Villoldo
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  9. 9 Nunca Tuvo Novio (version for piano) 01:53
    Track
    9
    Title
    Nunca Tuvo Novio (version for piano)
    Duration
    01:53
    Composer
    Agustín Bardi
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  10. 10 La Casita de Mis Viejos (version for piano) 03:09
    Track
    10
    Title
    La Casita de Mis Viejos (version for piano)
    Duration
    03:09
    Composer
    Juan Carlos Cobián
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  11. 11 Silueta Porteña (version for piano) 01:48
    Track
    11
    Title
    Silueta Porteña (version for piano)
    Duration
    01:48
    Composer
    Juan Ventura Cuccaro, Nicolás Luis Cuccaro
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  12. 12 Arrabal (version for piano) 03:38
    Track
    12
    Title
    Arrabal (version for piano)
    Duration
    03:38
    Composer
    José Pascual
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  13. 13 Tinta Roja (version for piano) 01:49
    Track
    13
    Title
    Tinta Roja (version for piano)
    Duration
    01:49
    Composer
    Sebastián Piana
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  14. 14 Milonga de Mis Amores (version for piano) 01:47
    Track
    14
    Title
    Milonga de Mis Amores (version for piano)
    Duration
    01:47
    Composer
    Pedro Laurenz
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  15. 15 Mi Regalo (version for piano) 01:41
    Track
    15
    Title
    Mi Regalo (version for piano)
    Duration
    01:41
    Composer
    Orlando Goñi
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  16. 16 Percal (version for piano) 02:19
    Track
    16
    Title
    Percal (version for piano)
    Duration
    02:19
    Composer
    Domingo Federico
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  17. 17 Corralera (version for piano) 01:58
    Track
    17
    Title
    Corralera (version for piano)
    Duration
    01:58
    Composer
    Anselmo Aieta
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  18. 18 El Andariego (version for piano) 02:36
    Track
    18
    Title
    El Andariego (version for piano)
    Duration
    02:36
    Composer
    Alfredo Gobbi
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  19. 19 Naturaleza Muerta (version for piano) 03:15
    Track
    19
    Title
    Naturaleza Muerta (version for piano)
    Duration
    03:15
    Composer
    Roberto Pansera
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  20. 20 Tema Otoñal (version for piano) 02:49
    Track
    20
    Title
    Tema Otoñal (version for piano)
    Duration
    02:49
    Composer
    Enrique Francini
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  21. 21 Melancólico (version for piano) 02:46
    Track
    21
    Title
    Melancólico (version for piano)
    Duration
    02:46
    Composer
    Julián Plaza
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  22. 22 Sideral (version for piano) 03:00
    Track
    22
    Title
    Sideral (version for piano)
    Duration
    03:00
    Composer
    Emilio Balcarce
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  23. 23 Nostálgico (version for piano) 02:34
    Track
    23
    Title
    Nostálgico (version for piano)
    Duration
    02:34
    Composer
    Julián Plaza
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  24. 24 A los Artistas Plásticos (version for piano) 03:44
    Track
    24
    Title
    A los Artistas Plásticos (version for piano)
    Duration
    03:44
    Composer
    Osvaldo Pedro Pugliese
    Performer
    Mirian Conti
  25. 25 El Firulete (version for piano) 02:45
    Track
    25
    Title
    El Firulete (version for piano)
    Duration
    02:45
    Composer
    Mariano Mores
    Performer
    Mirian Conti