A GLANCE AT

ASTOR
PIAZZOLLA’S
HISTOIRE DU
TANGO

Lizzie Ritter HNRS 4990

 ASTOR PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992)

o Argentinian composer and bandoneon player

o Known for:
• His distinctive brand of tango called “nuevo tango”
• Formed two music groups: Octeto Buenos Aires and Quinteto Nuevo
Tango, which performed at his own club, Jamaica
• Composed over 750 works including many tango pieces and a
concerto for bandoneon
 NUEVO TANGO

o Created by Piazzolla in the 1950s

• Translates to “new tango”
• Initially met with resistance until the 1980s

o Musical elements
• Chromaticism
• Dissonance
• Elements of Jazz
• New instrumentation

o Within the piece:

• mm. 19- mm. 23 (chromaticism)
 ARRASTRE

o Arrastrar: to drag

o Gives the tango a swing and sensual feel

o Three types:
• Glissando line
• Appoggiatura
• 16th note chromatic upbeat

o Within the piece:

• mm. 39 in flute with pick-up
• Marimba transition in m. 47
 3-2-2 RHYTHM

o 1. Three eighth/quarter note length

2. Three eighth/quarter note length
3. Two eighth/quarter note length

o Traditional Argentine musical concept and one of Piazzolla’s

signature rhythms

• Within the piece:

• mm. 89- mm. 94
• mm. 14- mm. 16 (accents in flute)
 MILONGA

o A form of the tango which had a faster tempo in duple meter,

but created a relaxation in the bodies of dancers and performers

o A common rhythm in the milonga was a dotted eighth-

sixteenth note rhythm in duple meter

o Within the piece:

• mm. 25-26 (in the marimba)
 BORDEL 1900

o Piazzolla’s Histoire Du Tango organized the four

movements in historical order
• Going from 1900 to the present
o First movement: the origin of the tango
o Set in an early 20th century bordello/brothel
o In duple meter (2 beats per measure) like most tangos
during this time
o Written to resemble flirtatious and sensual dancing
 Rubato elements in the flute and marimba
 Fast double-tongued staccato figures in the flute
 Milonga rhythm
 CAFÉ 1930

o Second Movement: for listening only

o Around the 1930’s, the emphasis on the tango dance decreased

and the focus became on the music itself

o Romantic, slow, sultry, lyrical, somber

o Piazzolla gives the performers many ad libitum sections to

allow freedom for tempo changes and to create their own
interpretation
 NIGHTCLUB 1960

o Third movement: Argentine and Brazilian fusion

o A new transformation of the tango: a combination of Argentine

tango with the Brazilian bossa nova (translates to “new trend”)

o Performed at nightclubs in Buenos Aires

o Includes flashy elements of first movement and slower

elements from the second movement
 CONCERT D’AUJOURD’HUI

o Fourth movement: modern-day concert

o Translates to “concert of today”

o Intended for listening use above all else

o This movement was Piazzolla’s way of showing the direction

tango was headed and the future of it

o Not completely tonal and includes chromatic and jazz elements

with displaced accents
 Taken by Patrick Zachmann

Lizzie Ritter HNRS 4990

Lizzie Ritter HNRS 4990