Piazzolla: Symphonic Works, Vol. 2 (2007)

The great strength of Astor Piazzolla's music was that it looked forward to a time when the distinction between classical and popular will dissolve; it is not really describable as either one. Like Gershwin's, it can be pushed in a classical direction and will stand up nicely to such treatment. There are several ways to go about making a classical Piazzolla disc, one of which is to arrange his music for traditional concert-music ensembles. Another is to rely on the music Piazzolla himself composed with classical performance ... Read More

The great strength of Astor Piazzolla's music was that it looked forward to a time when the distinction between classical and popular will dissolve; it is not really describable as either one. Like Gershwin's, it can be pushed in a classical direction and will stand up nicely to such treatment. There are several ways to go about making a classical Piazzolla disc, one of which is to arrange his music for traditional concert-music ensembles. Another is to rely on the music Piazzolla himself composed with classical performance contexts in mind, most of which comes from the very beginning of his career (when he was a student of Alberto Ginastera) or from the very end, when ensembles rushed to commission new music from the aging bandoneón player. This disc combines the two approaches, offering the early Sinfonia Buenos Aires, Op. 15 (1951) and late Concerto for bandoneón, string orchestra, and percussion (1979) along with orchestral arrangements of the familiar Cuatro estaciones porteñas (Four Buenos Aires... Read Less