Piazzólla: Libertango

A genuine trumpet phenomena, Romain Leleu has quickly gained an enviable profile courtesy of his infallible technique, enthusiam and his natural musicality, which have already won him a Victoire de la Musique.

He is back, on a third disc for Aparté, with his playmates the Ensemble Convergences for this very personal album of classic standards and crossover, specially orchestrated for string quintet and trumpet. Fun, cheesey even and in excellent arrangements.

The brilliant Argentine musician Astor Piazzolla, who revolutionised the traditional tango through his use of jazz elements, counterpoint, extended harmonies and dissonance, has constantly appealed to wide audiences, as well as fascinating classical musicians. Here Astoria (string quintet, piano, accordion), led by Christophe Delporte, gives a delightfully lively rendering, capturing the rhythm and all the lyricism and charm of Piazzolla’s tango nuevo.

Denis Plante’s arrangements immerse the listener in the very essence of tango.

On this CD the ensemble Triade perform Astor Piazzolla’s most well known and famous tangos in inimitable, excellent fashion.

Astor Piazzolla’s name has become synonymous with tango, that epitome of sadness and melancholy expressed in dance and singing. Piazzolla laid the foundations for the worldwide renaissance of this cultural phenomenon. The Argentinean composer and bandonéon player rescued tango from being the clichéd dance form it had been reduced to during the Golden Twenties – Piazzolla set about reviving tango with an equal amount of courage and uncompromising endeavour. He mixed traditional tango with elements of jazz and classical music, inventing a new style in the process: tango nuevo. Some tango aficionados celebrated Piazzolla as being a true innovator – others cursed him, calling him tango’s “gravedigger”. Regardless of the subjective assessment of his achievements, Piazzolla personified tango‘s zenith and in addition, became one of the most important composers of the twentieth century.

These fiery works are brilliantly performed by the Macquarie Trio. This collection of tangos and other dances captures the universal theme of the tango: love, life and death.

All tracks are arranged by Quentin Grant unless specified

Astor Piazzolla’s much-loved tangos have been arranged for all manner of instrumental line-ups, this album presenting an exuberant selection specially arranged for the acclaimed Tuscan Brass and Percussion Quintet. The Quintet is joined by guest violinist Andrea Tacchi. The result is a thrilling new take on nuevo tango, passionate yet poised, sharp and shiny as a knife-blade. The centrepiece of this album, Piazzolla’s witty Four Seasons Suite takes Vivaldi’s famous violin concertos for a stroll through the docklands of Buenos Aires, the original home of tango itself.

Classic FM is inviting you to the dance with its brand new double album Waltzing Classics, the ultimate collection of your favourite waltzes and other dances. This wonderful album is packed with the world’s most famous dancing pieces, with waltzes including Khachaturian’s ‘Waltz from Masquerade Ball’, Strauss’ ‘The Blue Danube’, and Meyerbeer’s ‘Skater’s Waltz’. Also included are many other famous dances, including Piazzolla’s fiery ‘Libertango’, Herold’s mischievous ‘Clog Dance’, Prokofiev’s powerful ‘Dance of The Knights’, Ziehrer’s elegant ‘Losslassen’ Polka, and beautiful pieces from the world of ballet including Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Nutcracker’ and ‘Swan Lake’. Waltzing Classics transports the listener to a magical world of the classical ballroom and will appeal to lovers of dancing and classical music alike.

“Pampa and guitar, intellect, rhythm and feeling - those are probably the best words to use when attempting to describe the altogether charming music of Piazzolla and Bardesio.”

Bardesio not only composed works of his own for the guitar, but also created arrangements of Piazzolla's works. He has selected eight such arrangements to make up the first part of this CD.

This is a disc of Piazzolla’s music for flute and guitar, made by arguably the finest flute & guitar duo currently active. Moliner and Azabagic perform Piazzolla's music with the kind of smouldering intensity and rhythmic panache that makes the listener want to put on dancing shoes.

Disc annotator and arranger Sergio Assad writes: “The exceptional partnership of Denis Azabagic and Eugenia Moliner is the result of their very special natural gifts...their warm exciting renditions of the pieces presented on this CD do justice to the music created by one of the most inventive Latin American composers of all time.”