Piazzolla 100

RUDENS TURKU PLAYS PIAZZOLLA

A phrase frequently mentioned in conversation emerges: “to sink into the sound.” Violinist Rudens Turku uses it to emphasize what is particularly important to him: to delve into the deeper layers of a composition while keeping the composer’s life story, the context of their time, and the political background present. The music of Astor Piazzolla – concert music from a cosmopolitan Argentine with Italian roots, raised in the USA – offers him special opportunities for this exploration.

When Turku speaks about Piazzolla’s music, one can quickly sense more than mere enthusiasm. Turku states: “Piazzolla’s family emigrated, just as my own family came to Germany. Aside from a violin case in hand, we had nothing. Perhaps that is something that connects me to this composer and his works on a soul level.” This identification is also rooted in biography: Turku came to Germany from Albania in 1992. Discussing his work with Piazzolla’s pieces, he shares: “I felt that a single note is so rich in sound that I experience a journey within each tone. It’s such intimate music – full of sorrow and despair, but also overflowing with a joy for life that is enveloped in darkness.” Turku adds: “This music breathes and allows us musicians the freedom to reinvent its style with sensuality and rhythm in unusually formed ensembles.” He sometimes feels reminded of works by Béla Bartók – for instance, in the piece "Tanguango" – and there are always clear references to Johann Sebastian Bach in Piazzolla's music.

While studying with Ana Chumachenco in Munich, Turku encountered a piece by the Argentine for the first time in 1999. Ana Chumachenco had lived in Argentina during her youth. “I worked on a milonga in lessons with Chumachenco,” says Turku. And since then, this music has captivated him. ASTOR PIAZZOLLA was born on March 11, 1921, in Mar del Plata, Argentina, and died on July 4, 1992, in Buenos Aires. He was the founder of Tango Nuevo, a tango that sought not to be dance music anymore but rather music for listening. Once the sound of bars and brothels, the tango, which originated in the La Plata Delta in the 19th century, became chamber music through Piazzolla, conquering stages worldwide. It is the music of an ambitious composer.

Piazzolla was the son of Italian parents who moved from Argentina to New York due to their economic situation. He showed enthusiasm for sports – but even at a young age, he was drawn to music, especially Brahms, Mozart, and Bach. He initially resisted the tango, which his father, a barber, incessantly listened to. However, he soon began taking lessons on the bandoneon, the primary instrument of tango musicians, a bellows instrument with buttons derived from the concertina. Back in Argentina, Piazzolla quickly found work as a musician, notably in the orchestra of the famous Aníbal Troilo. He also studied under the composer Alberto Ginastera. At the age of 25, he founded his own orchestra. In 1954, he received a scholarship to Europe for his composition "Sinfonietta." He studied with the great composition teacher Nadia Boulanger, who encouraged him to stay true to the tango while refining it. He did so with the help of the skills he sharpened under Boulanger. Fugue and counterpoint became masterfully controlled elements of his works. However, he had to defend his music – which is still played by renowned interpreters across many genres today – against tango traditionalists repeatedly. During the time of the Argentine military dictatorship (1976 to 1983), Piazzolla mainly lived in Italy.

The pieces on this album – ranging from duos for violin and piano to arrangements for solo instruments and orchestra – cover a broad spectrum of Piazzolla’s oeuvre. "Fuga y misterio" (Fugue and Mystery), an instrumental excerpt from the opera in 16 scenes "María de Buenos Aires" from 1968, begins with a sharp start, allowing tonal chains to traverse various instruments – first the bandoneon, then the piano, violin, and cello – culminating in an intimate cantilena for the violin. "Tanguango" is an early piece, with its notes published in 1951 bearing the annotation "a new Argentine rhythm"; it already showcases Piazzolla’s artistry of distinctive rhythmic accents and contrapuntal finesse – heard here in an arrangement for violin and piano.

In six consecutive orchestral pieces, some of Piazzolla’s most famous melodies emerge: for example, "Milonga del Ángel" (from the Suite del Ángel, 1962–65) with its enchanting cantilena over swaying harmonies; "Adiós Nonino," a famous piece Piazzolla wrote in 1959 just days after his father’s death – whose incredibly tender melody is initially played solo by the violin before the bandoneon and orchestra join in; "Balada para un loco" ("Ballad for a Madman"), whose violin intro, with angular expressiveness and soft fluttering, tells a story full of contrasts in just 50 seconds. "Libertango," Piazzolla’s manifesto for tango liberated from outdated traditions, provides soulful solos for the bandoneon played by Carel Kraayenhof and the violin. "Oblivion" – also known as "Ave Maria," a piece from Piazzolla’s two wonderfully beautiful compositions for the film "Enrico IV," released in 1984 – begins with orchestra and airy violin harmonics, then relinquishes the melancholic C minor melody, with its drawn-out sighs, to the bandoneon and later to the solo violin. The block of orchestral pieces concludes with a homage by Carel Kraayenhof to Piazzolla: "Desconcierto," a title that means "bewilderment" or "confusion."

Rudens Turku places particular importance on the piece "Le Grand Tango," composed in 1982 in Paris, which is why it has a French title. Originally for cello and piano, it is heard here in an arrangement for violin, cello, and piano. This nearly eleven-minute work consists of three connected sections. The first, "Tempo di Tango," begins with powerful accents on the first, fourth, and seventh eighth notes of a measure, generating an almost manic drive. The second, "libero e cantabile" (free and singing), contains delightful dialogues between violin harmonics and piano in this arrangement. The third section, labeled "giocoso" (playful), presents itself with energy and humor – with voices that seem to dance around each other and play hide and seek. The arranger Alexander Krampe aimed to "convey the spirit of the music and create joy and tension among the musicians" in this piece and others: this immediately comes through.

After just a few measures of this album, listeners can experience what Rudens Turku emphasizes in his interpretations: to "sink into the sound" with him. It is a truly special musical experience.
© Roland Spiegel 2021