It was Nadia Boulanger who persuaded\nAstor Piazzolla to devote himself to the tango rather than to other genres of classical\nmusic. For this eminent French-based teacher, Piazzolla interpreted the popular\nmusic of Argentina much as Bart\u00f3k, Stravinsky and Gershwin did the music of\ntheir countries. Piazzolla took the Argentinian tango and produced an eclectic classical\nmusic strain that came across effortlessly in the Sicily Ensemble\u2019s offering. In\nensuring the nuevo tango, the Argentinian composer freed the tango from its\ntraditional patterns and gave it more nuances, making it more complex in the\nprocess. This introductory enlightening note before every excerpt by the\nviolinist Antonella Scalia provided the audience with a contextual picture of\nwhat to expect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concert opened with Oto\u00f1o\nporte\u00f1o<\/em> that asked for demanding playing from the Ensemble. The piece fuses\nclassical music, tango rhythms and compelling harmonies that merge into a\ncomposition of unique originality. The successive number Soledad <\/em>(Solitude)\ngrasped the opportunity to show off impressive contrasts of dark textures\ntinged with the appropriate melancholy from all the members of the ensemble\nparticularly the baritone saxophonist Tommaso Miranda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Piazzolla was concerned to create\ntango music that would give voice to the concerns of a modern city like Buenos\nAires since the city had neoteric rhythms and had become increasingly\ncosmopolitan. He brought the \u2018neuvo tango\u2019 to a new audience, although it\nunderstandably met with some opposition from the traditionalists. Among the\nnumerous works of his fruitful decades, Michelangelo 70<\/em> features as one\nof the most enthralling works. This music had then attracted great attention\nfor it sounded new, unusual, evocative and sensitive and so were we transported\nto this fascinating soundscape. Los paraguas de Buenos Aires <\/em>provided\nthe audience with music that possesses a passionately strong melodic line while\nVuelvo al sur<\/em> was performed with real power and a sensually seductive\nconviction by mezzo-soprano Nicoletta Bellotti. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The French accordionist Richard\nGalliano had collaborated very closely with Astor Piazzolla and his Tango\npour Claude<\/em> shows the extent of the Argentinian composer\u2019s indelible\ninfluence. It was certainly played with gusto by accordionist Daniele Collura\nbacked up by a solid contribution from all the members of the Sicily Ensemble.\nThe vivid jazz-tango overtones resulted in bouncy and vibrant music that\nimmediately grips the listener with a catchy melody in the style of Piazzolla. As\na matter of fact, Piazzolla was leaps and bounds ahead of contemporaries,\nchanging the tango music scenario through the trajectories that he undertook\nseveral times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Piazzolla\u2019s Mar\u00eda de Buenos Aires<\/em> is effectively a number opera \u2013\ncombining classical forms such as fugue,\nmelodrama and toccata with tangos and Argentinian folk tunes \u2013 yet it is a\nnumber opera of a strikingly original kind. The Sicily Ensemble regaled the\naudience with a particularly moving number Yo soy Maria <\/em>that saw the\nparticipation of the vocalist in a heart-rending performance of this jewel of a\nsong from Piazzolla\u2019s creative pen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\npenultimate piece of this monographic concert was Oblivion <\/em>followed by\nthe eponymous Libertango<\/em> that was played at a hefty pace and saw the\nconductor Foder\u00e0 also featuring as a pianist together with Giovanna Mirrione in\nan explosive run of emotions that caused the audience to give a standing\novation to the concluding number amid shouts of \u2018bis\u2019 and \u2018bravi\u2019. It was truly\nan evening where Gozo succumbed to \u2018Feel the Magic of Piazzolla\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/feelthemagic.mt\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/1-683x1024.jpg\")
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