(le) poisson rouge

The year 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of Astor Piazzolla's passing. In many ways, he is a forerunner to the current generation of composers who are working to fuse popular and classical styles and techniques. Born in 1921 in Mar del Plata, Argentina, he grew up in New York City. He started lessons on the bandoneon (Argentinian accordion) at the age of eight; a few years later, he began piano studies with Bela Wilda, a protégé of Rachmaninoff, who introduced him to Bach’s music. He returned to his native country in 1936, and at seventeen, launched his professional career by playing in tango orchestras. Three years later, he began composition lessons with Alberto Ginastera. His efforts to introduce the harmonic complexities of classical music into the tango were met with some hostility, as were concert works incorporating the bandoneon, then considered a street instrument.

In the early 1950s, he set aside the tango to compose concert works, going to Paris in 1954 to study with Nadia Boulanger. With her encouragement, he returned to the tango, and upon his return to Argentina, expanded the genre in ever-more creative and adventurous directions, experimenting with harmony, form, and instrumentation. By the time he passed in 1992, he had composed film soundtracks, chamber and orchestral scores, and popular hits. His collaborations included projects with Gary Burton, Kronos Quartet, Gerry Mulligan, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Lalo Schifrin.