Adios Nonino

Adiós Nonino (Farewell, Granddaddy in Rioplatense Spanish) is a composition by tango Argentine composer Ástor Piazzolla, written in October 1959 while in New York, in memory of his father, Vicente "Nonino" Piazzolla, a few days after his father's death. The piece was based on Piazzolla's earlier tango Nonino, composed in Paris in 1954, of which he kept the rhythmic part and re-arranged the rest with some additions. It would prove to be one of Piazzolla's most well-known and popular compositions, and has been recorded many times with many different arrangements and with various instruments.

This is a great Mass work. It is good that Mr. Domingo and the people from Deutsche Grammophon recorded this work from Bacalov. Placido Domingo is great at always finding and recording new genders of music. I believe this is the first time this work is recorded. His recent recording of Albéniz "Merlin" (Decca London) is also a first. He is accompanied on both works by Ms.Ana Maria Martinez who in my oppinion has one of the best young voices today. She sings beautifully on both works. Her vocal range and musicality is one of the best my ears have listen to. I saw her live singing with Andrea Bocelli and she brought tears to my eyes. What a voice!! I will definetly buy more copies of Misa Tango to give to my friends this holiday season.

It is largely due to Astor Piazzolla that the bandoneon has become inextricably linked to the languid, sensual art of the tango. His renewal of its traditions – the so-called Nuevo tango – is exemplified by Aconcagua, a concerto for bandoneon, string orchestra and timpani of vivid imagination and rapid changes of mood that embodies the milonga, the improvised song of the Argentine. The six accompanying pieces are among Piazzolla’s most famous and evocative – works of poignant melody, profound melancholy and complex, uplifting beauty.

It is a meaningful sign of the times that Astor Piazzolla is arguably one of the most frequently performed composers on the contemporary musical stage, even though he probably never aimed at writing “classical” music. True, one of the fundamental encounters of his life was with composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger, who mentored many of the most important avant-garde musicians of the second half of the twentieth century. And, under her guidance, Piazzolla did attempt to express his personality through the language of Western contemporary music. The results, of course, were very good, since nobody could question Piazzolla’s talent. Yet, when Piazzolla performed one of the tangos he had already written to his professor, she exclaimed: “Astor, all your classical pieces are well written, but the true Piazzolla sound is here, never leave it behind!”. And if the language of Piazzolla’s music does not correspond to that of the coeval European avantgardes, neither does it conform to the standards of the Argentinian tango tradition. It is precisely for his utter originality that Astor Piazzolla rightfully claimed and obtained a place in the pantheon of twentieth-century classical music. But it is also this originality that may puzzle those attempting to classify him within one of the established musical categories.

Argentinean Astor Piazzolla (March 11, 1921 - July 4, 1992) is widely considered the most important tango composer of the latter half of the twentieth century. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music. This 10CD set combines some of his greatest recordings.