Astor Piazzolla, Argentina “With the arrival of Astor Piazzolla, the authentic musical expression of Buenos Aires [the tango] has moved, with its unique style, in new musical directions.  Piazzolla has steadfastly used the resources of European music with a technique that reveals profound knowledge of counterpoint, harmony, and orchestration that are adapted to a clear language of great rhythmic vitality.  His sound idiom never descends and for this reason does not lose timeliness or cease being a sincere expression of Buenos Aires.”                       —Abel  Lopez Iturbe             Piazzolla was instrumental in the renaissance of the tango after World War II.  Born in 1921 in Mar del Plata, Argentina, he moved to New York City at a young age where he lived for many years.  At age nine, he learned to play the bandoneon and soon became recognized as a talent to be reckoned with.  At thirteen, he was employed by the famous tango singer, Carlos Gardel, to play the bandoneon in a bit-part for a movie.  At the end of the 1930’s, he returned to Mar del Plata and soon thereafter to Buenos Aires, where he worked as a musician and arranger of tango.           In 1946, he formed his own orchestra, but four years later, decided to concentrate on classical music, composing for chamber ensembles and symphonic groups.  In 1954, on a scholarship from the French government, he studied in Paris under Nadia Boulanger, who recognized his talent and led him back to playing tango.  After only two years in New York, he returned to Buenos Aires and put together his “Quinteto” —bandoneon, violin, piano, guitar, and double bass.  The Quintet traveled all over the world, bringing the influence of jazz and contemporary “classical” music to the traditional tango.  As Piazzolla himself said, “It may not be tango, but it mirrors the spirit of our city and of today’s porteño.”           For a long time, Piazzolla’s fame was known only to aficionados of Argentine tango.  But in 1982 he played at the Berlin Festival of World Cultures, which set into motion a tango renaissance.  Before he died, he played to  standing ovations across the globe. His prolific writing includes over 300 tangos, numerous musical works for the theater as well as film soundtracks, symphonic music, and hundreds of arrangements.   “Tango has not fossilized into an obsolete form, but lives on as contemporary, lively music.”                        —Eberhard  Jahnke