In recent decades, the alluring sounds of Astor Piazzolla's nuevo tango have captivated international musicians and audiences. Unfortunately, there are only a few notable and internationally scattered sources relating to the academic study of the Argentine composer and bandoneonista. With Estudios sobre la obra de Astor Piazzolla, Omar García Brunelli remedies the problem of accessibility and fills in this scholarly gap. Covering a broad spectrum of musicological topics, this book is a compilation of both previously published and new articles in Spanish dating from 2000–2008, authored by scholars from North and South America as well as Europe.
The book begins with a series of articles discussing Piazzolla's stylistic identity. Stemming from his larger work Piazzolla: la música límite, Carlos Kuri's article examines the aesthetic structure of Piazzolla's music (Kuri Reference Kuri1997). He states that Piazzolla situated the tango in a construct where it co-exists between jazz, classical music and tango. Therefore, Piazzolla went beyond a genre and towards a unique name for his style. Gabriela Mauriño uncovers the musical elements linked to traditional tango in the works of Piazzolla. Through numerous musical examples, she concludes that nuevo tango is not a division of tango, but rather an expansion of the genre. Ramón Pelinski describes Piazzolla as a ‘nomadic’ composer, an idea expanded in his book El tango nómade (Pelinski Reference Pelinski2000). As such, Piazzolla reformulated his musical identity through travels, voluntary exiles and concert touring, but his compositional style remained fundamentally rooted in tango.
The next set of articles discusses specific pieces by Piazzolla or his compositional characteristics. Malena Kuss analyses Piazzolla's use of form, octatonic scales, ostinatos and tresillo rhythmic patterns as an accumulation of intra- and intertextual references from classical music and tango. Historically appropriately, she correlates the compositional practices of Piazzolla with those of his teacher and mentor, Alberto Ginastera. In his essay, Martín Kutnowski astutely examines the relationship between the rubato of tango canción and Piazzolla's use of ‘instrumental rubato’ as well as the composer's phrase structure. Alejandro Martino places Piazzolla's compositional use of the flute within the historical context of the tango. Through an insightful analysis of ‘Las Camorra I, II and III’, Omar García Brunelli discusses the similarities between the three ‘Camorras’ and traces the pieces' musical roots in traditional tango and North American rock music. Marina Cañardo and Silvia Gerszkowicz consider the influence of Gerardo Gandini on Piazzolla's music, specifically the use of 20th-century classical techniques and jazz improvisations in his final ensemble, the Sexteto.
Four of the articles in this collection look at Piazzolla's tango operita, María de Buenos Aires. Allan Atlas brings to light compositional patterns of significance by linking the ‘blue note’ (b9) to the idea of death through his analysis of ‘Adiós Nonino’ and ‘Contramilonga a la funerala’. Sonia Alejandra López's essay is an examination of contrapuntal and tango elements in ‘Fuga y misterio’. Through an excellent structural and harmonic analysis, Ulrich Krämer describes María's birth, death and rebirth as a personification of the tango's history. He concludes that María is a metaphor for Piazzolla's own abandonment and restoration of the tango. Bernardo Illari provides a comprehensive analysis of María by culturally contextualising this work in Argentine history, gender stereotypes and musical traditions.
The final articles in this compilation discuss Piazzolla's impact as a performer, composer and tanguero. David Butler Cannata examines Piazzolla's reception history in New York, specifically how the composer struggled through cultural approbation during his lifetime and achieved enormous popularity after his death. Touching on the ideas of globalisation and tourism, Sergio Pujol analyzes the influence that Piazzolla's legacy has on tango in Argentina. The book concludes with a complete bibliography complied by Leandro Donozo and a complete discography complied by Mitsumasa Saito.
Examining a variety of topics, this book is an excellent starting point for Piazzolla scholarship. The articles by Kuri, Mauriño, Pelinski, Kuss, Atlas, Kutnowski, Brunelli and Krämer form the foundation for research in this field. The other articles offer interesting arguments and perspectives to enhance the quality of the book. While including an accompanying CD is not standard in a publication of scholarly essays, I believe that readers would appreciate such a CD with this book, because some of the musical examples reference specific tracks of particular sound recordings that are difficult to obtain. In sum, I find this compilation to be an exceptional work and believe it will be a useful resource for students and scholars researching Latin American music.
