Piazzolla created a distinctive language that converges Jazz,
classical music, and the drastic pulse of his Tango.
Slide 4
ADIOS NONINO, ONE OF THE MOST REPRESENTATIVE SONGS COMPOSED
AROUND 1959, WHEN PIAZZOLLA HAD THE NEWS OF THE SUDDEN DEATH OF HIS
FATHER, CALLED NONINO. THE AUTHOR CRIED THROUGH HIS ART, AND LEFT
FOR THE HISTORY OF ARGENTINE MUSIC, ONE OF HIS MOST BEAUTIFUL
PAGES.
Slide 5
BIOGRAPHY Astor Piazzolla was born in Argentina but spent most
of his childhood in New York. When Astor was 8 years old, his
father gave him his first bandoneon and Astor started to study
music seriously, he study music in France and then he returned to
Buenos Aires were he formed his own tango orchestra. Being the
arranger of the Troilos orchestra, he began musical studies
creating a new blend between tango, classical music and jazz.
Slide 6
In 1973, after a period of great productivity as a composer, he
suffers a heart attack which forces him to reduce his artistic
activities and he decides to move to Italy where he begins a series
of recordings for the next 5 years, his most famous work
Libertango, is widely accepted in the European Community. In 1977,
he plays a memorable concert at the Olympia in Paris and then
restarts his dedication to chamber music and symphonic works.
Slide 7
The next ten years are the best for Piazzolla, he intensifies
his concerts all over the world: Europe, South America, Japan, and
the United States. Until 1990 he does a series of concerts mostly
with the quintet, also as a symphonic solo performer and as a
chamber musician. In his final years he played most with the sextet
(his final group), and with string quartets.
Slide 8
In August 4, 1990, while in Paris, he suffers a stroke and
after almost 2 years of suffering the consequences of this
incident, he dies in Buenos Aires on July 4, 1992. His opus,
contain more than 1000 works, a career characterized by his
artistic unique style that continues to influence the best
musicians in the world.
Slide 9
ADIOS NONINO: THE MUSICAL ANALYSIS The piano enters with a
variation of the main theme followed by the bandoneon which repeat
the main theme again establishing an question answer pattern and
continues playing through continuously The bandoneon enters with
the main theme followed by the piano and the low strings a bit of a
question and answer game with very decisive rhythmic figures. This
happens four times; meanwhile the other instruments slowly drop out
around the bandoneon.
Slide 10
The piano jumps in over, the bandoneon fades out and prepares
the theme B section. The violin carries the B theme over the
accompaniment played by the rest of the ensemble. The piano, violin
and bandoneon break free of the B section. All the instruments
start the beginning of the coda to end abruptly in a dissonant
sound, showing that all the frustration and anger was released and
there is nothing else that can be done.
Slide 11
The version played on the presentation belongs to Sexteto
Mayor, an Argentienean Tango Ensamble compose by two bandoneons,
two violins, piano, and bass.