Sinfonia Buenos Aires Bandone

The Nashville Symphony Orchestra really showed their stuff in Latin American repertoire with their highly-regarded Naxos recording of the complete Bachianas Brasileiras of Villa-Lobos in 2000 (conducted by the late Kenneth Schermerhorn). This new Naxos disc brings this strong tradition to the most important orchestral works of Astor Piazzolla, under the direction of Nashville's dynamic Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero.

The Sinfonia Buenos Aires was written under the influence of Piazzolla's teacher Alberto Ginastera. Though this rather episodic work doesn't share Ginastera's formal mastery, it's a sprawling, colourful symphonic work (or rather, three symphonic movements). The Concerto for Bandoneon is, I think, more successful. It may, in fact, be Piazzolla's best orchestral work, partly because it's scored for strings and percussion only.

The final work on the disc is Las Cuatro Estaciones Portenas (Four Seasons of Buenos Aires), in a version for violin and orchestra made by Leonid Desyatnikov after Piazzolla's death. Though I'm not a complete musical purist - I love Charlie Parker's sessions with strings, for example - I'm not a fan of this particular pastiche. Piazzolla's nuevo tango style is itself a melding of traditional tango, Baroque, and jazz styles, so it's natural to experiment with new orchestrations. But I much prefer this music in a bandoneon-led small group. That said this version is very well played indeed, with Tianwa Yang providing some hair-raising turns on her violin.

Thomas May's thoughtful liner notes include a wealth of pertinent information about Piazzolla's life and music. This is just one of the areas in which Naxos excels. The label has raised the art and business of classical music to a very high level, especially considering the state of today's musical commerce.

From the opening blast of Piazzolla's Sinfonia Buenos Aires, composed early in his career in 1951, we are engaged in rich, complex, and sonically arresting orchestration. Piazzolla had studied with Ginastera for five years, and the lessons learned make this strongly classical, soulful, and rhythmic work a delightful surprise. Underlying tango elements, assisted by the trademark bandoneón, are present to complete the portrait of the energetic city. Shortly afterwards, Piazzolla concentrated on his nuevo tango for smaller ensembles, but in 1979 he provided another symphonic piece, a concerto for bandoneón and string orchestra that emphasizes the wistfulness and passsion somehow integral with the instrument's timbre. The Nashville Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Giancarlo Guerrero captures the variety of moods well in this recording, and Daniel Binelli is the maestro of the bandoneón, part of Piazzolla's own New Tango Sextet. His performance of the powerful and mournful lyricism of the second movement brings tears. The third work on the album is a composite of various writings that constitute a Four Seasons in the manner of Vivaldi. Here, it is arranged for violin and strings, with Tianwa Yang as soloist. Her precision and technique in meeting the rough and romantically lyrical requirements of these unusual pieces demonstrate why she is a rising international star. Each section is its own story; there is no uniting feature, other than some baroque references and an exploration of emotions. These symphonic works make this album an excellent, very worthy addition to anyone's Piazzolla or classical collection.

Well, I'm just ordering this CD at this moment, so maybe I'm anticipating, but I was present at one of the Nashville Symphony's live concerts of this program, and it was one of the most exciting and memorable concert evenings of my life. Both soloists are amazing, and this is just the kind of music this orchestra most excels at -- rhythmic, modern, and lively. I look forward eagerly to receiving my copy!