The Tango is a dance that originated in Argentina and Uruguay in the 1880s, but it’s by no means antiquated. Its accompanying music has evolved along the way, too, continuing its traditional blend of Spanish, Italian, Gaucho, African, and French cultural roots while incorporating modern sensibilities.
One of the main reasons Tango has stayed relevant is Astor Piazzolla, a composer and bandoneon player who revolutionized the style in the mid-20th century.
He was born in 1921 in Argentina to Italian parents, but his family moved to New York City when he was still a child. The city’s cultural and musical melting pot influenced his musical style. He would return to Argentina to study the bandoneon with tango orchestras, but a yearning to compose led him to study with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, France.
It was here that he found his true musical voice.
“I was writing symphonies, chamber music, string quartets. But when Nadia Boulanger analyzed my music, she complained that she couldn’t find any Piazzolla in there,” he said. “She could find Ravel and Stravinsky, maybe Béla Bartόk, or Hindemith—but never Piazzolla. The truth is, I was ashamed to tell her that I was a tango musician, that I had worked in the whore-houses and cabarets of Buenos Aires. ‘Tango musician’ was a dirty word in Argentina when I was young. It was the underworld. But Nadia made me play a tango song for her on the piano, and then she said, ‘You idiot, don’t you know? This is the real Piazzolla, not the other one. You can throw all that other music away.’ So I threw away ten years’ work and started with my New Tango in 1954.”
Piazzolla worked to create a more sophisticated form of tango, and the result would eventually be called Nuevo Tango. His work incorporated elements of classical and jazz, including extended harmonies, contrapuntal textures, dissonance, and rhythmic complexity.
“For me, tango was always for the ear rather than the feet,” he once explained.
One of his most famous pieces is “Libertango,” which he originally recorded in May 1974 at Mondial Sound Studio in Milan, Italy. “Libertango” blends the words “libertad” (meaning freedom) and tango.
The song has been recorded by numerous artists, ranging from Yo-Yo Ma to Grace Jones to Al Di Meola and more. However, Piazzolla’s own performances bring a certain electricity.
For example, take this 1977 clip from the program TSR Mosaïque. It begins with a pensive guitar intro by Tomás Gubitsch, who picks things up and is joined by bassist Ricardo Sanz. One by one, the band members enter to build the excitement. Piazzolla makes a dramatic entrance on his bandoneon with the melody to “Libertango” to applause from the audience.
“Libertango” is the epitome of musical progress. It blends the old with the new, taking a brave step forward while honoring the past.
Now, it’s your turn to explore. Get the sheet music for “Libertango” and create your own version:
