Argentina 9.8.1997 / 11.11.2000
The Argentine composer Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla was born in Mar del Plata on March 11, 1921. He died in Buenos Aires on July 4, 1992. This year, his death marks the 25th time.
In 1939, Astor Piazzolla became a member of a tango orchestra. He started composition lessons in 1940. In the early 50s he received several national awards for his orchestral and chamber music. With a scholarship he studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. He then founded his own orchestra and began to reinterpret the tango. In total he composed more than 300 tangos and music for nearly 50 films. Many of his tangos are not danceable in the traditional sense, but music for listening. His “Tango Nuevo” maintains the harmony of the tango, but combines it with elements from jazz and classical music.
The video shows a performance of Piazzolla’s composition “Libertango” (1973) with the “Russian Philharmonic” in Moscow on September 30, 2010.