One hundred years ago, on 11 March, one of the international musical icons of Argentine tango was born: Astor Piazzolla. Despite being much criticized in his beginnings, his avant-garde and creative genius allowed him to take Tango to a whole new level, and he became a fundamental musician of the 20th century.
Astor Pantaléon Piazzolla was born in Mar del Plata, but spent his childhood and teenage years in New York, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It was there that he soaked up the sound of that city: mainly jazz. And it was also there where he learned to play the bandoneon, the instrument he's most identified with.
He returned to Argentina at the age of 16 and started playing in the tango orchestra headed by Aníbal Troilo, "Pichuco", where he absorbed the tenets of traditional tango. Later he formed his own ensemble. In reality, Astor wanted to be a classical musician and thought that his compositions were no good. Until his stay in France served to consolidate him as a composer, and boosted his self-confidence.
From then on, the Piazzolla style was born. A style that provoked fierce criticism among old-school tango musicians until, finally, the world surrendered to his music.
To celebrate, the piazzolla100official.com platform was launched this Monday by the Fundación Astor Piazzolla in anticipation of the celebrations. International musicians of the likes of Al Di Meola, Marty Friedman, Paquito D' Rivera, Richard Galliano and Gary Burton took part in the tributes, salutes and music homages.
Piazzolla wrote some monumental pieces such as "Libertango", "Adiós, Nonino", "María de Buenos Aires", "Balada para un loco", "Las cuatro estaciones porteñas" and "Oblivion", among 3,500 works.
RAE - Argentina to the World joins the homage with Adios Nonino, perhaps the most moving and popularly known of his tunes worldwide. It's a melody he wrote in honor of his father, Vicente "Nonino" Piazzolla, who had died while the composer was in New York.