Tango Rhapsody (Adiós Nonino)

Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla transformed the traditional tango into a new style called “Tango Nuevo” incorporating jazz and classical elements, extended harmonies, and dissonances utilizing a plethora of nontraditional forms. He developed a form ABABC, frequently found in his works. In the fast A sections he used tango rhythms, in the slow sections he used lyrical solos.

“Piazzolla became the visionary who revolutionized the tango — that doleful mélange of broken hearts, dirty dancing and soul-crushing melancholy developed in the South American immigrant melting pot of Argentina and Uruguay.” — Los Angeles Times

The composer loved Bach and gained his own music reading skills from Béla Wilda, who was a student of Sergei Rachmaninoff. At the age of 20 he studied with Alberto Ginastera and later with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, who encouraged him to play the bandoneon. Piazzolla dedicated his work “Adiós Nonino’’ to his late father, Vicente “Nonino” Piazzolla. During the time of grief, away from Argentina and in a state of deep depression, the work became the catalyst for his sadness, nostalgia, and melancholy.

– Kristina Marinova