Let's Tango. Tangos Argentinos (1992)

Through his life, Piazzolla’s passion was the music of Argentina, which meant the tango, and through his development of tango nuevo he made “respectable” what originally was urban dance music of the working classes in Buenos Aires. Of course, he did this by taking the very elements that gave this music its earthy appeal–excited, swirling, sensuous melody, pulsing ostinato, syncopation–and recast them in more sophisticated forms, particularly regarding rhythm (including polyrhythmic structures and irregular divisions) and harmonies derived from jazz and classical styles.

On LET’S TANGO, Duo Cello e Basso with French double bassist Pascale Delache-Feldman and cellist Emmanuel Feldman invites listeners to experience some of the celebrated genre’s greatest masterpieces. Joined by pianist Victor Cayres, the centerpiece of the album is the duos’ arrangement of Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires that they perform in concerts around the United States including a recent appearance at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Other Piazzolla works with piano include Kicho, an original work for solo double bass and Le Grand Tango, written originally for cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. The album also includes a trio arrangement of Por una Cabeza and El Dia que me Quieras by famed 20th century tango composer Carlos Gardel. Full of the longing and passion characteristic of tango music and paired with the rich dynamic range of the bass and cello, LET’S TANGO offers fresh new interpretations of these classic works.

Four CD Box Set featuring the Greates Tango Musician: Carlos Gardel, Tino Rossi, Jean Lumiere, Elyane Celis, Charlo, etc.

In the realization of this album I gave all of my heart to the memory of Astor Piazzolla and Jorge Luis Borges. Throughout the whole performance I have tried to reflect Astor Piazzolla’s intense and inimitable style. For that, I had a qualified group of Argentine musicians who contributed all their art to join me in this great project. Jairo’s singing and Lito Cruz’ voice reading poems finish up the framework for this wonderful work by Borges and Piazzolla, which was composed in the 1960’s.

This recording combines the lyrical and rhythmic vitality of early 20th century Brazilian and American popular music with Rifkin's thoughtful and artistic realization, in much the same way as his 1970's recordings of Joplin piano works did on the Nonesuch label. As with those recordings, the sound here is good and the performances excellent. Various different interpretations of Nazareth, Scott, and Lamb exist, and some might find the slower pace of Rifkin's ragtime playing eccentric, but I believe these performances to be subtle and truly musical, as opposed to surface and expected.

Tango has long become more than the popular Argentine urban dance which developed after 1870 in the poor working class and immigrant areas on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Tango has aficionados worldwide – be it for its music, culture or the dance. On New Year’s Eve 2006, conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim, Argentinean by birth and upbringing, celebrated the end of the year with a spectacular musical event: a festival of Argentinean music live from Buenos Aires. In a seamless fusion of classical and traditional music, the Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires under Barenboim joined the excellent bandoneon virtuoso Leopoldo Federico and his Orquesta Tipica to present an extraordinary show with popular tangos and Latin American orchestra classics to a crowd of 10,000 in a free open-air concert at the Plaza de la República.