Piazzolla and Tango Nuevo
If there’s one name that’s recognizable to everyone in the tango community — and beyond — it’s Astor Piazzolla.
Ask any Argentinian today, and they would surely know who “El Gran Astor” (“The Great Astor”) is.
Even those who don’t dance the tango would have likely heard of the bandoneon virtuoso. Since many enthusiasts recently celebrated the centenary of his birth in 2021, you can find a wealth of articles on the internet paying tribute to the renowned tango musician.
In fact, Astor Piazzolla’s music had become so revolutionary that it wasn’t called just tango music anymore — Piazzolla’s sound was hailed as the “Music of the City of Buenos Aires.”
It’s easy to think that such a beloved composer and musician enjoyed all the glory and applause the stage had to offer, but if this thought is running through your head, you would be wrong. As much as Piazzolla has been celebrated as a national hero or icon in Buenos Aires, this recognition came rather late.
It wasn’t until the latter years of his life that Piazzolla’s music even gained acceptance in Buenos Aires — the birthplace of tango itself. Instead, it was Europe and North America that welcomed his Tango Nuevo with open arms.
Even then, Piazzolla’s acclaim was hard-fought — with literal fights breaking out because of the music he played.
Piazzolla himself admitted this in a 1989 interview with the San Diego Union:
“'People were furious when I started, because I was taking something away from them. I had fights in the streets with people who insulted me! Fortunately, I was raised in a tough neighborhood in New York City, and that gave me the guts I needed.'”
But what was it that Piazzolla was “taking away”?
The Child Prodigy
Like many of those who have achieved fame in their craft, Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla wasn’t accepted in his own home country.
Born in Mar del Plata on March 11, 1921, he wouldn’t move back to Buenos Aires until later, when he was 15 years old — though his passion for tango music and the bandoneon would take him to different places throughout his life.
It wasn’t just courage that young Piazzolla learned in the Lower East Side of New York, which was where his family moved to when he was just four years old. His father, Vincente, gifted the young Astor his first bandoneon when he was eight years old. Recalling his childhood, Piazzolla stated in an article from DW:
“My father listened to tango all the time and thought wistfully about Buenos Aires, about his family and his friends — it was always just tango, tango, tango,’ Piazzolla later recalled about his childhood years.”
“Vincente gifted his son a bandoneon, and since Astor loved his father very much, the eight-year-old not only diligently practiced piano, but also this instrument.”
Piazzolla’s talent for playing the bandoneon did not come unnoticed.
At only 11 years old, Piazzolla was recognized as a child prodigy after a concert in Manhattan. A few years later, he even caught the attention of tango legend Carlos Gardel.
According to an article from the Los Angeles Times:
“He [Piazzolla] improbably caught the eye of Carlos Gardel, the baritone-voiced mega-star of the tango who was making films in New York with Paramount after a cabaret run in Paris. The dashing tango legend and innovator of the tango canción (sung tango) was impressed with Astor’s moxie, English-speaking skills and facility with the bandoneón.
He gave the impish Piazzolla a bit role as a paperboy in the 1935 film El Día Que Me Quieras (The Day That You Love Me).
“Gardel even invited the 14-year-old Astor to accompany him on tour, but the family decided he was too young. It was a fortuitous decision. The 1935 tour ended in catastrophe when Gardel, 44, and his entire entourage were killed in an airplane crash in Medellín, Colombia, a cultural apocalypse that sent the tango universe into profound mourning.”
Despite meeting a world-renowned tango singer, Piazzolla wasn’t particularly interested in tango at the time. After all, young Piazzolla was a lover of jazz and classical music — particularly the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach.
However, as the Great Depression began to sweep through the United States, the Piazzolla family decided to move back to Mar del Plata in 1936. At the time, tango was experiencing its Golden Age in Buenos Aires. Here, Piazzolla was able to play with some of the most renowned tango ensembles — most notably the orchestra of another tango legend, Anibal Troilo. It is believed that Piazzolla was inspired to play tango music after witnessing a 1937 performance by the Elvino Vadaro ensemble. According to a post from DW:
“[J]azz fan Astor experienced a turning point when it came to the tango. Attending a performance by the Elvino Vardaro ensemble, Astor heard and saw that the music he had not loved up until then could be interpreted on stage in a completely new way. The spark ignited in the young man, and he joined the popular tango orchestra led by Anibal Troilo. But it would take years before Astor developed his own unique tango sound.”
Even as Piazzolla displayed immense talent for the bandoneon, he would often be criticized by Troilo for “using too many notes.” To Troilo, and to the rest of tango purists, what Piazzolla was playing wasn’t suited for tango dancing.
The “Real” Piazzola
In 1946, Piazzolla formed his own orchestra, which endeavored to experiment with the sound and structure of tango.
He also studied classical music with Alberto Ginastera, a renowned Argentine classical composer.
By 1949, Piazzolla disbanded his orchestra, largely due to his dissatisfaction in experimenting with the sounds of tango. However, what he did retain was his mindset for discipline and love for study, which may have helped him weather the disparaging and discouraging remarks he received from tango traditionalists when it came to his music.
Resolving to put tango behind him in 1954, Piazzolla won a composing contest with his piece Buenos Aires. This gave him the opportunity to study with Nadia Boulanger, a famed French music teacher.
His time spent studying with Boulanger is considered a historic moment in tango because this was when Piazzolla had found his “real” self.
In the 1989 interview with the San Diego Union, Piazzolla recalls this moment of self-discovery:
“‘I studied with her [Boulanger] for 18 months, and I found something with her: Myself,’ Piazzolla said. ‘She was analyzing the concert music I’d written, and she said, “This is wonderful, but something’s missing. Where is Astor Piazzolla? I can’t find him.”
“‘All of a sudden, she made me play one of my tangos on the piano. Then she took my hands and said, “This is Astor Piazzolla. Don’t ever leave it.” That was 1954, the last time I saw her, and I went back to Argentina and it was like getting out of prison and finding liberty. The big door opened for me.’”
Maestro or Misfit? Piazzolla’s Tango Nuevo
After studying with Boulanger, Piazzolla moved back to Buenos Aires, where he founded his “Octeto Buenos Aires.”
However, even as he shed his doubts about his musical style, the public reception of his music was nowhere near positive. In fact, some even met it with hostility, going so far as to pick fights with Piazzolla for being the “assassin” of tango.
According to an article from the San Diego Union-Tribune:
“In 1954, [Piazzolla] started the nuevo tango movement, which found him fusing traditional tango rhythms with virtuosic, jazz-inspired improvisations and the dissonant tonalities, jarring counterpoint and complex melodies and harmonies pioneered by Stravinsky, Bartok, and other 20th century classical composers.
“To outraged tango purists, Piazzolla’s actions were tantamount to heresy. Since its inception in the late 1890s, tango had remained virtually unchanged, both as the national dance music of Argentina and as a very strictly defined and executed style that combined Andalusian folk, Cuban habanera, and candomble, a spiritually inspired music centered in the Bahia region of Brazil that draws heavily from African ritual dance rhythms.
“Piazzolla irrevocably changed all that.”
With the negative reception of his music, Piazzolla returned to New York but did not have much luck with work. He struggled to find regular gigs that could support his wife and two children.
Just before his debut at the opening night of a club in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Piazzolla learned of his father Vincente’s passing in Mar del Plata.
Overwhelmed by grief and mourning, Piazzolla was able to compose — in a half hour rush — what is arguably one of his most profound pieces, “Adios Nonino.” Nonino was what he fondly called his father.
Even though he did not get much recognition for his revolutionary music, Piazzolla kept playing. In 1960, he and his family returned once more to Buenos Aires.
At the time, the cultural and musical scene was beginning to be dominated by jazz and rock n’ roll. Thus, Quinteto Nuevo Tango was born, which was Piazzolla’s most influential and celebrated group.
Changing Fortunes
Finally, the tide of good fortune seemed to be in Piazzolla’s favor. According to his short biography on Britannica:
“When he returned again to Argentina, he formed the influential Quinteto Nuevo Tango (1960), featuring a violin, electric guitar, piano, double bass, and bandoneón.
Though many of his 750 compositions were written for that quintet, he also composed pieces for orchestra, big band, bandoneón, and cello.
His innovations, including counterpoint and new rhythms and harmonies, were initially not well received in his country, but they were greatly admired in the United States and Europe.
He moved to Paris in 1974 but returned to Argentina in 1985.
In Argentina, Piazzolla’s new tango gradually gained acceptance, and his music influenced a new generation of tango composers and was featured during the 1970s and ’80s in film scores, television programs, and commercials.
His later compositions included a concerto for bandoneón and orchestra (1979) and, commissioned by Kronos Quartet, Five Tango Sensations for bandoneón and string quartet (1989).”
Piazzolla’s final group was the New Tango Sextet, which debuted in Los Angeles at UCLA’s Royce Hall in 1989. As he achieved fame and belated acceptance from Buenos Aires, Piazzolla maintained that he wasn’t the type of artist who played for the applause and accolades. According to an article from the Los Angeles Times, Piazzolla had stated:
“I’m doing what I want — I always do... Look, I’m not a Julio Iglesias. I play none of the old repertoire…. There are some stupid people who expect me to play things like that to get more applause, but I won’t do it.
I’ll never sell my soul to the devil for applause — never. I’m not interested in being the richest man in the cemetery.”
A year after his Royce Hall performance in L.A., Piazzolla unfortunately suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage in Paris and never recovered. At 71 years old, he passed away on July 4, 1992 in Buenos Aires, leaving hundreds of compositions and recorded pieces behind.
Living Legacy
Aside from his revolutionary music, what is perhaps most memorable and most inspiring about Astor Piazzolla is his capacity to remain steadfast in the face of criticism and discouragement.
True to his artistic temperament, Piazzolla continued to express his authentic self through his music even as he faced hardship for his choices.
He wasn’t afraid to push the boundaries of his craft, continuously studying, experimenting, and innovating.
Those with less grit would have given up, but Piazzolla did not. His life and work is a testament to his enduring legacy of creativity and passion that went against all odds.