Astor Piazzolla

Born 1921 in Mar del Plata, Argentina, died 1992 in Buenos Aires; Astor Piazzolla renewed the tango by joining its rhythmic tradition to jazz and classical composition. He spent part of his childhood in New York, where he came to know jazz and the music of Bach; after returning to Argentina he played in Aníbal Troilo’s orchestra and studied composition with Alberto Ginastera. His encounter with Nadia Boulanger in Paris confirmed him in making the tango the starting point of a musical language of his own. With groups such as the Octeto Buenos Aires and his quintet he developed the tango nuevo and carried it onto international concert platforms. Works such as „Adiós Nonino“, „Libertango“ and „Oblivion“, the bandoneon concerto and „María de Buenos Aires“, created with Horacio Ferrer, show the range of his work between instrumental concerto and musical theatre.