Record of the day: Astor Piazzolla, “Tango: Zero Hour”
Astor Piazzolla, “Tango: Zero Hour” (Cd Nonesuch 755979469-2)
«This is without a doubt the best album I’ve ever recorded, in my entire life: we put our soul into it». This is how the composer and bandoneonist Astor Piazzolla expressed himself about “Tango: Zero Hour”, published in 1986; considering the vastness of Piazzolla’s discography (made up of titles that have seen him collaborate with musicians of the caliber of Gerry Mulligan, Lalo Schifrin and Gary Burton) such a statement would seem almost reckless, but listening confirms these statements exactly.
The compositions of “Tango Zero Hour” are among the most beautiful ever to come from Piazzolla’s pen and many of them, such as “Concerto para Quinteto”, “Mumuki” and “Milonga del Angel” are now considered classics. Piazzolla’s writing, always suspended between the improvisational spontaneity of the great Argentine popular tradition and the classical/contemporary language that he had developed by studying with Alberto Ginastera and Nadia Boulanger, reaches one of its expressive peaks in this album, thanks to the formal perfection of the songs, to the never academic and always personal use of voicings and counterpoint, to the incredible melodic beauty of the themes (which has been plundered by too many authors).
The attempt to renew Tango patiently implemented by Piazzolla cost him decades of misunderstanding and hatred on the part of the more traditionalist public, who frowned upon the polytonal and jazzy grafts of his language inserted into the structures of classical Tango. Time, fortunately, has been kind and today Piazzolla is rightly seen as one of the most important Argentine composers and soloists, perfectly versed in the different languages found at the Conservatory and in the tangories.
The expressive power of music is due in no small way to the exceptional group of musicians that Piazzolla had gathered around him starting from 1978. The New Tango Quintet had a telepathic understanding with its leader, it was made up of great virtuosos who placed themselves completely at the service of Astor’s scores and understood every minimum compositional nuance with naturalness and authentic interpretative passion. Everyone is excellent, but Pablo Ziegler’s piano and Fernando Suàrez Pàz’s violin stand out in particular.
Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical topics.
This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: A record for every day of the year” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.
