Happy birthday, Astor Piazzolla!
The present Doodle, outlined by Buenos Aires-based guest artist José Saccone, observes Argentine composer and virtuosic bandoneón player Astor Piazzolla, who revolutionized traditional tango to make a hybrid genre known as “nuevo tango.”
Astor Piazzolla was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 1921 and moved with his family to New York City at a youthful age. When his dad got him a bandoneón, an Argentine accordion-like instrument that is vital for the tango sound, he immediately got known as a child prodigy and wrote his first tango at 11.
In 1937, he got back to Argentina where traditional tango actually reigned supreme. When home, Piazzolla really surrendered tango to study classical music and become a modernist classical composer. He traveled to Paris on a grant to student under prominent French writer Nadia Boulanger, who set him up for his next get back in 1955.
Back in Argentina, he applied long periods of classical study to the tango sound and shaped his band “Octeto Buenos Aires.” Coined as the “nuevo tango,” Piazolla’s new take joined components of jazz and classical music with new instruments, changing the tempo, the sound, and the tradition of dance.
For the duration of his life, it’s assessed that Piazzolla wrote approximately 3,000 original compositions and recorded another 500.
In honor of his 100th birthday celebration, the Astor Piazzolla Foundation recently reported the Piazzolla Music competition for soloists and ensembles alike.
