Ástor Piazzolla

Argentine-born tango musician and composer

• Born: March 11, 1921
• Birthplace: Mar del Plata, Argentina
• Died: July 4, 1992
• Place of death: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Piazzolla is one of the major figures of tango music. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, he infused the tango with borrowings from other genres, such as jazz and classical music. His works initially met with mixed reviews, yet by the 1980’s, he gained worldwide recognition.

Early Life

Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla (AH-stohr PAHN-tah-leh-OHN PEE-ah-TZOH-lah), the only child of Vicente “Nonino” Piazzolla and Asunta Manetti, was born March 11, 1921, in Mar del Plata, Argentina. His right leg was twisted at birth and required numerous surgeries to correct, leaving the leg two centimeters shorter than the left. Throughout his life, Piazzolla maintained an aversion to hospitals and hated when people commented on his limp. His parents, especially his father, felt that their only son was destined for greatness and fostered his interest in whatever he happened to enjoy, be it boxing or music.

The Piazzolla family left Mar del Plata in 1925 for New York City, hoping for better financial prospects. They moved into an apartment in the Lower East Side, a predominantly Jewish and Italian neighborhood. Piazzolla credits the music he heard at Jewish festivities as having an influence upon his rhythmic development. In 1929, he received a bandoneón (an instrument similar to a concertina or accordion), which he gradually grew to love more than baseball and boxing. In 1932, at age eleven, he performed his instrument at a small concert of Argentine music at Roerich Hall. Piazzolla’s love for the excitement and applause cemented his desire to become a musician.

Also, while in New York, Piazzolla met Carlos Gardel, the most famous tango singer of the era. Gardel allowed the teenage Piazzolla to play bandoneón for him, as entertainment at the star’s numerous parties. In 1937, the family returned to Mar del Plata, but Piazzolla, feeling more American than Argentinean, found the move aggravated his restlessness. He left Mar del Plata that same year for bustling Buenos Aires. After several short-lived stints in various cabarets, Piazzolla joined bandleader Aníbal Troilo’s prestigious tango orchestra.

Life’s Work

Piazzolla was uninspired by the standard repertoire played by Troilo and other tango orchestras. In 1941, he began taking composition lessons with the notable Argentinean composer Alberto Ginastera, studies that continued for six years. During this time, Piazzolla expanded his knowledge of harmony, counterpoint, rhythm, and orchestration. Eager to incorporate his new musical training into his beloved tango, he would try out his experiments with other band members after hours. Piazzolla’s tangos, meant for listening instead of dancing, fared poorly among dance band musicians. He left the Troilo orchestra in 1944, determined to form an orchestra that was capable of and willing to play his music. He directed a series of bands throughout his life, most notably Octeto Buenos Aires (1955-1958), Quinteto (1960-1970, 1978-1988), and Octeto Electrónico (1974-1977).

In 1953, Piazzolla’s composition Buenos Aires, tres movimientos sinfónicos won the Fabien Sevitzky Prize. The prize included a premiere of the work, conducted by Sevitzky, a small monetary award, and most importantly, a one-year French government scholarship. Piazzolla and his first wife, Dedé, spent 1954-1955 in Paris. There, he took composition lessons with the esteemed pedagogue Nadia Boulanger. Boulanger listened to Piazzolla’s classical compositions with respect, yet insisted they were without feeling. When Piazzolla finally played his tango “Triunfal” for his teacher, Boulanger exclaimed that this music was the true Piazzolla.

Taking his teacher’s advice, Piazzolla synthesized the tango with classical music, with emphasis on the bandoneón as a virtuosic instrument. In 1959, Piazzolla composed a tango, “Adiós Nonino,” on the occasion of his father’s death. This work was his first international success.

The 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s provided Piazzolla with opportunities for recordings and touring, performing concerts in the United States, Japan, England, France, Sweden, and numerous other countries. His most ambitious and controversial composition, the “tango-opera” María de Buenos Aires (1968), with a libretto by Horacio Ferrer, nearly bankrupted him. In true Piazzolla fashion, he remarked to journalist Alberto Speratti that it was “much more important to be broke with María de Buenos Aires than to have done some garbage and to be flush.” The work continues to receive mixed reviews and was revived in 1987 and 2007. Piazzolla’s collaboration with Ferrer constitutes one decidedly good outcome of the tango-opera. They continued their partnership for the next several decades, producing songs such as “Chiquilín de Bachín” and popular “Balada para un loco.”

Although Piazzolla’s stamina was legendary, he began to have heart problems in 1988. He underwent a quadruple bypass operation and resumed touring as soon as the doctors gave him a clean bill of health. By 1990, the strain of touring and recording had worn him down, and in August of that year, he suffered a stroke in his Paris apartment. He was eventually flown home on a special flight arranged by the president of Argentina. Piazzolla never recovered and spent his last twenty-three months unable to speak or write and fighting various complications from the stroke. He died on July 4, 1992.

Significance

Some experts, such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma and journalist Don Heckman, have compared what Piazzolla did for the tango to what George Gershwin and Duke Ellington did for jazz. Indeed, Piazzolla took the tango to the height of artistry and introduced it to audiences worldwide. His music has only increased in popularity since his death and has secured his legacy as one of the finest and most original composers of the twentieth century.

Bibliography

Azzi, María Susana. “The Tango, Peronism, and Ástor Piazzolla During the 1940’s and 1950’s.” In From Tejano to Tango: Latin American Popular Music, edited by Walter Aaron Clark. New York: Routledge, 2002. Azzi explores Piazzolla’s politics in depth against the background of the creation of “new tango.”

Azzi, María Susana, and Simon Collier. Le Grand Tango: The Life and Music of Ástor Piazzolla. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. This is a definitive biography of Piazzolla, with useful appendices containing a listing of Piazzolla’s recordings as well as a glossary of South American terms.

Cannata, David Butler. “Making It There: Piazzolla’s New York Concerts.” Latin American Music Review 26, no. 1 (Spring-Summer, 2005): 57-87. This article details Piazzolla’s personal and professional ties to New York City from his youth until his death. Cannata pays particular attention to the reception history surrounding his live performances.

Gorin, Natalio, comp. Ástor Piazzolla: A Memoir. Portland, Ore.: Amadeus Press, 2001. Gorin compiled this book from interviews and tapes made in the last five years of Piazzolla’s life. It also contains an essay by Horacio Ferrer on his friendship with Piazzolla.