95139
Piazzolla
El Otro Astor Music for Guitar and Strings
Alessio Nebiolo Nadio Marenco QuartettOrfeo
Astor Pantaleon Piazzolla, bandoneon player, arranger and composer, was born in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 11, 1921 and died in Buenos Aires on July 4, 1992. Music has no boundaries of any kind as when an interpreter approaches the work of a composer of another latitude, a magical mixture occurs. It is the case of Alessio Nebiolo, the renowned Italian guitarist, with a strong academic background and a multi award-winning career on the stages of the world, who dedicates this CD to the music of Astor Piazzolla, together with the Italian renowned accordionist Nadio Marenco and the great QuartettOrfeo. In El Otro Astor, Alessio Nebiolo shows a less known part of the music of Piazzolla. Chamber pieces such as The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, The Five Tango Sensations, The Double Concerto for bandoneon, guitar and strings, Hommage à Liège, or the Ave Maria, form an essential whole, to better know the repertoire of Astor Piazzolla. Written for his famous Quintet, Astor Piazzolla composed the pieces that bring up The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires independently, between 1964 and 1970 and he played them in few opportunities as an integral work. Listening to it, diverse climates flow: the expression of “lo porteño (at Buenos Aires)”, the bohemian, the pulse of Buenos Aires, the new tango. In The Five Tango Sensations originally for bandoneon and string quartet, we discover a reflective of Astor Piazzolla, expressing different feelings described in each of the parts. Composed in 1989, it was released on November 25 of that year, in New York, at Alice Tully Hall, and was recorded by the Kronos Quartet. That session was Piazzolla’s last studio recording session. The “Sensaciones (Feelings)” are a clear example of Piazzolla’s ability to move different musical paths, without losing the essence of his music, which is always Buenos Aires. The Double Concerto for bandoneon, guitar and strings, Hommage à Liège, was released in 1985, under the International Guitar Festival of that city, with Astor Piazzolla on bandoneon, prominent Cacho Tirao on guitar, and the Philharmonic 2
Orchestra of Liège directed by Leo Brower. In this work the elements of tango are assembled with symphonic music, and with an orchestra in which there are no wind instruments, only strings and the significant presence of the solo instruments which give a very special sound. The CD ends with the instrumental version of Ave Maria, for piano and voice that Astor Piazzolla composed in 1989 and dedicated to the great Italian singer Milva. When he gave her the score he said: “Sing it when you feel it’s time.” Piazzolla lived most of his childhood with his family in Mar del Plata and New York, where he came into contact with both the jazz and the music of Bach. He began playing the bandoneon in 1927 when his father bought one in a pawn shop for him. The instrument enabled young Astor, to enter a new world. In 1937 Piazzolla was living in a boarding house in Buenos Aires; it didn’t take him a long time to join the music environment, and that year took place an event that became central to his career. He met Anibal Troilo, whose orchestra was performing at the Café Germinal. They played from early afternoon until 21:00 and the young Piazzolla used to listen to them every day. It was not long after, that he befriended some of the members of the orchestra. He knew the whole repertoire and was eager to play. It happens that when you have a good purpose, the universe conspires to make it concrete and that is what happened to Piazzolla. One day, he was missing one of the bandoneon players and Astor, 19 years old, offered to replace him. He fetched his bandoneon, and when he returned, Troilo himself challenged him: ‘So you’re the kid who knows all my repertoire ... We’ll see, go up and play’ ... Undaunted and to the astonishment of all, Astor was showcased with his bandoneon, and joined the orchestra at the end of the day with a sentence by Anibal Troilo: “Kid, we act with blue duds, you know ...”. Shortly after joining the line of Troilo’s bandoneon players, he became the arranger of the orchestra, and, as they say, the rest is history. Later he said: “When I joined Troilo, I tried to imitate many of his things ... I learned the tricks of the tangueros, those intuitive tricks that helped me later on. I 3
could not define them technically, they are forms of playing, forms of feeling; it is something that comes from inside spontaneously. At the outset I was just one of the bandoneons Troilo had in the orchestra, but I wanted to be the number one and I got there. El Gordo trusted in me “... Astor Piazzolla continued his studies with Alberto Ginastera who learned him composition, orchestration, harmony and encouraged him to attend Saturday morning rehearsals at the Colon Theatre, to become familiar with the various instruments of the orchestra. He also introduced him to the world of culture, “a musician should know all, because music is an art tote” and so he started to be interested in writers such as Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine and Thomas Mann. As a result of his efforts in 1954, and thanks to a scholarship, he went to France to study with the prominent pedagogue Nadia Boulanger. Until his meeting with her, Piazzolla was torn between being a tango musician or composer of classical music. After several months, his teacher wanted to know some of his tangos and after listening carefully said: “Astor, your classical pieces are well written but the true Piazzolla is here, never leave it behind.” In the book Astor Piazzolla His Life and His Music by Maria Susana Azzi and Simon Collier, published by Editorial El Ateneo, Yo Yo Ma, the renowned cellist, wrote in the prologue: “Piazzolla Music is endlessly passionate, full of yearning and at the same time tremendously contemporary. There’s a quote to the effect that Piazzolla is the Ellington of Argentina, and in a way it’s true. He actually took the tango to another level by inhabiting his music. The music grew in him and he adeptly incorporated the influence of his surroundings whether from New York, Paris or Buenos Aires”. During the almost forty years that he worked on his music, Astor Piazzolla tried many different variants, he even had an electronic assembly! Due to experimentation, as well as to his intelligence, focus and hard work, his music expresses itself in multiple levels and has an enormous depth. It’s a real successful synthesis of tango and contemporary. 4
The interest generated by the music of Astor Piazzolla, led him to explore the most diverse stages. Today his music is played all around the world by a growing number of musicians, as Alessio Nebiolo does on this CD that I enjoyed so much listening to. © Leonardo Liberman
El Otro Astor Piazzolla’s music is not really classical music, not really jazz, not really tango: it is a mixture of all these different sources that inspired him along his life. This aspect is precisely the one that attracted my attention as soon as I’ve discovered this music. Piazzolla’s music reflects the true emotions that he lived during his exciting and contrasted life. The sincerity of his communication draws the attention of the audience in every moment. Even in the more energetic and explosive parts, Piazzolla’s music is always permeated by a melancholic spirit. The nostalgia is sometimes heart rending but always proud. His talent to express his feelings in the most pure and direct way that brings his music to unexpected changes, surprising melodies, rhythmical changes that overturn the emotional context. In my opinion, this is the mirror of a meditative personality, sweet and scrappy at the same time but never prone to self-pity. Actually, this reflects Piazzolla’s life, since his childhood in New York, on the road with the gangs (during this period he was expelled from one or two of his early schools for fighting and he spent much of his time in the street). So we find many moments of strong energy in his music, sometimes it’s even violent and rhythmically aggressive thanks to the successive repetition of the same pattern. Although his music is always instinctive and emotional, Piazzolla studied all his life. He loved the great classical composers since childhood and took every opportunity to learn more and more. Since the first arrangements and compositions, we find Piazzolla looking for his own style by taking inspiration from every musical element that he could pump from his 5
artistic environment, to the point that he has been criticized both by the tangueros, more purist, and by the classical composers who underestimated his music. When we chose El Otro Astor as a title for this CD, we precisely wanted to refer to these two aesthetic identities. This version of the Double Concerto for bandoneon, guitar and strings, Hommage à Liège, is a transcription for accordion, guitar and string quintet realized by our violinist Leonardo Spinedi. With the arrangement and the free improvisation parts, we tried to highlight the spirit of one of Piazzolla’s last compositions, a sort of concentration of his art. I arranged The Five Tango Sensations starting from Manuel Barrueco’s version. The improvisation sections gave open spaces to my fantasy, inspired by Piazzolla’s own performance. When I asked Giorgio Mirto to arrange The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires for guitar and string quartet, I didn’t know how he would approach such a masterpiece of Piazzolla’s repertoire. Nevertheless, I was sure that he would be able to give these pieces a new character, original and connected to Astor’s aesthetic at the same time: “I decided to deal with this work considering two aspects. On the one hand, I imagined an arrangement and orchestration the most original and “concertante” as possible. On the other hand, I put “myself” inside, using my own ideas alongside the original contents of Piazzolla. So I acted as if the themes were mine. Which material should I include? How should I develop it in terms of harmony and rhythm? The result is what you can hear in this CD beautifully played by my friend and colleague Alessio Nebiolo (to whom my work is dedicated) and by QuartettOrfeo.” (Giorgio Mirto). The Ave Maria was a great surprise for every one of us. Lorenzo Turchi-Floris, who took care of all the artistic direction of our CD, was so passionate and involved in our project that he wished to offer us this composition, as a personal musical contribution. We started working on the score at the end of the recording sessions and we immediately decided to record it. Two hours later, we had a bonus track! This is an opportunity to share Lorenzo’s gift with the audience. 6
Thanks to all the musicians, engineers, friends who helped us during this recording and during all the working process. Without you, it wouldn’t have been possible! © Alessio Nebiolo
7
Alessio Nebiolo began his musical studies in Italy when he was eightyears-old and obtained a diploma with “distinction”at the ‘A. Vivaldi’ Conservatory in Alessandria. In 2003, he obtained his “Diplôme de Virtuosité” (Concert Diploma) with “Congratulations of the Jury” at the Lausanne Conservatory in the professional classes of the Brazilian guitarist M º Dagoberto Linhares. Then, he completed his studies with a “Diplôme de Soliste” (Soloist Diploma with orchestra), which he obtained with “Congratulations of the Jury”. In 2005, he was awarded the Max Jost First Prize dedicated to the best soloist of the year amongst all instruments. Alessio Nebiolo is already the winner of several international competitions (11 awards). The press acclaimed him as: ‘Splendido! … cried the audience in unison as a man dressed in black passionately strummed the guitar’ (Times of India, Bangalore 3rd November 2008)
‘Une fascination à laquelle on ne peut pas échapper’ (Festival de Lucerne, August 2004) Alessio Nebiolo has also performed in the most renown festivals in Switzerland, France, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, U:S.A, Uruguay, Paraguay, Mexico, Poland, Brazil, Chile and Bolivia in solo recitals, as soloist with Orchestra and giving master classes. Several concerts have been recorded and transmitted by national radio and television in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, France, Chile and Bolivia. He has also recorded five different albums in France (Arpeggio’), Italy (Guitart Records), Mexico (Tempus Records). Alessio has performed for the following European TV channels: French television TF1, Television Suisse Romande TSR1 (Swiss French Television), Léman Bleu, Rai3 and Rete 4 in Italy, as well as for the National Swiss Radio channels Espace2 and DRS2. He regularly plays with the ’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande’ , ‘Orchestra da Camera di Lugano’, ‘Nova Amadeus Chamber Orchestra’ (Rome), ‘Orchestre Symphonique du Mont Blanc’ (France), Sinfonietta (Switzerland), Philarmonie Marea Neagra (Roumanie) Philarmonica de Cochabamba (Bolivia), Filarmonica de Temuco (Chile) and Filarmonica de la Universidad Mayor(Chile). He has played the Concierto de Aranjuez (Joaquin Rodrigo) with several orchestras around the world. At present, Alessio Nebiolo is teacher of guitar at the Geneva Music Conservatory in Switzerland. www.alessio-nebiolo.com
‘Italian guitarist enchants with lyrical show’ (Jakarta Post, May 05, 2007) 8
9
Nadio Marenco born in Savona, approached music from the youth, at six years of age, getting to know the accordion with the music teaching of Maestro Roger Spinetta. His musical development has continued over the years by meeting Prof. Eugenia Marini and Prof. Sergio Scappini (Accordion of the Scala Theater orchestra, in Milan). Nadio graduated in accordion with the top score at the Conservatory of music “Giuseppe Verdi” in Milan. He is recent winner of the First Prize in the “Rotary, City of Milan” contest for accordion soloists. Has also won the “International music prize “Forenza Music award” during the “Nations’ week”, I edition, with the Rhapsòdija Trio. He held teaching positions at the Scuola Media Robecchi in Vigevano (Experimental course of accordion), he is now professor of accordion at the Scuola Civica Luigi Costa in Vigevano, coordinator of the the courses “Vigevano Choir” at the primary schools “De Amicis”, “Negri”, “Botto”, “Don Milani” and “Ricci”, in Vigevano and teacher in the seminar “When accordion replaces… “ at the music conservatory “A. Vivaldi” of Alessandria and in the Master course “Guitar Symposium: La guitare actuelle” along with Master 10
Alessio Nebiolo from the Music Conservatory of Geneva. He has been soloist with several orchestras in Italy and internationally, in 1994 he started a musical career dedicated to multiple music genres, from jazz to folk and classic all the way to his love for Argentinian tango of Astor Piazzolla.
11
QuartettOrfeo Intense interpretation, dense and expressive sound… These are the adjectives that characterized the QuartettOrfeo in various concerts through the old continent. The ensemble was founded by a group of four Roman musicians that has always expressed the ambition to present a range of programs that alternate classical to contemporary music and open up new musical journeys where today’s composers can have new perspectives. Guest of important music festivals in Italy such as Livorno Music Festival, Stagione Borgiana of Nepi, Estate Romana, audiences and critics are unanimous in giving tribute to the group that has captured attention as a very interesting musical reality on the current stage. As principal, it regularly works with the Orchestre Symphonique du Mont-Blanc and the Mission Chamber Orchestra. From 2014 dedicates part of its activity in training young musicians through the educational-project of the Orchestra Giovanile Archi Accademia Nova in Rome. The ensemble also works in pop music collaborating to the incision of the album disco “Il signor G e l’amore” – a tribute to Giorgio Gaber – with the singer Rossana Casale. To be mentioned the project that connects the quartet with the guitarist Alessio Nebiolo to the label “Brillant” in a tribute to Astor Piazzolla. QuatettOrfeo is member of MusicFor, through which the ensemble dedicates part of his musical activities in supporting the development of music in disadvantaged areas of the world by contributing to the building of schools of music. Thousands of children have such an opportunity to get closer to music by changing their perception and their perspective of life.
12
Leonardo Spinedi violin (Simeoni 2009) Eleonora Minerva violin (Simeoni 1992) Morian Taddei viola (Simeoni 2010) Ilaria Calabrò cello (Maraviglia 1977)
13
Also available on Brilliant Classics
We would like to thank all the musicians, engineer, friends and people who helped us at every step of our project. Without you, it wouldn’t have been possible! A special thanks to Lorenzo Turchi-Floris that supported us since the beginning until the end!
Recording: December 2014-January 2015, Digital Records Studio, Rome, Italy Artistic Director: Lorenzo Turchi Floris Editing, mixing and mastering: Goffredo Gibellini and Gianluca Porelli at Digital Records, Rome, Italy Cover image: Courtesy michael clarke stuff p & © 2015 Brilliant Classics 14
Latin-American Classics 9262 1CD
Villa-Lobos: Complete Guitar Music 9196 2CD
Gilardino: 3 Concertos for Guitar and Chamber 94747 1CD
Piazzolla: Café 1930, Music for Violin and Guitar 94896 1CD 15