The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
Every artist aspires to develop a personal voice, and every good artist eventually does so. But few arrive at a style so personal and so reflective of a unique vision that, while nonetheless achieving great international popularity, it is strictly sui generis. The music of Astor Piazzolla is just that. Single handedly he created a musical genre and style that began with the traditional elements of the Argentine tango, but was infused with so much of advanced twentieth century “classical” techniques, that the result almost obscures its popular roots. Jazz, Stravinsky, Bartók, dissonance, counterpoint, ubiquitous chromaticism, and varied orchestration—they all are incorporated into Piazzolla’s musical take on the tango. His achievement might be compared to a hypo >>>