Libero 1agosto 2024

Austrian vocalist Udo Jürgens is best known as the winner of the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest. But a career that spans over four decades has established him as one of the European mainland's most popular performers; his combined international sales exceed over 100 million units. Jürgens was born on September 30, 1934, in Klagenfurt, Austria. He was just 16 when he won an Austrian radio songwriting competition with "Je T'Aime." His success built from there over the next decade and, in 1961, he scored his first international hit when his composition "Reach for the Stars" was recorded by Shirley Bassey. Three years later, Matt Monro was similarly successful with Jürgens' "Walk Away" – a song that the Englishman first encountered at the 1964 Eurovision Song Contest, where Jürgens, representing Austria, performed it in its original language as "Warum Nur Waru." Jürgens finished fifth in the 1964 Eurovision event; the following year he finished fourth with "Sag Ihr, Ich Lass Sie Grüben." The third time proved the charm: he sang "Merci Chérie" to glory in 1966. (English singer Vince Hill promptly scored a U.K. hit with an English-language version of the song.)

Astor Piazzolla’s introduction of new rhythms and harmonies into the tango won him worldwide fame. Tango Suite, for two guitars, is one of the finest duo works in the repertoire, offering fireworks and percussive effects as well as exquisite melancholy. Yuri Liberzon has arranged the much-loved Oblivion for guitar, while Leo Brouwer’s arrangement of La muerte del ángel is full of vivacity and colour. Cinco piezas was Piazzolla’s first work for classical guitar and embraces peasant dances and complex cross-rhythms alike; the Tango-Études, originally for flute, shows the guitar’s range and versatility in Manuel Barrueco’s idiomatic arrangement.

Astor Piazzolla’s introduction of new rhythms and harmonies into the tango won him worldwide fame. Tango Suite, for two guitars, is one of the finest duo works in the repertoire, offering fire- works and percussive effects as well as exquisite melancholy.

Astor Piazzolla’s introduction of new rhythms and harmonies into the tango won him worldwide fame. Tango Suite, for two guitars, is one of the finest duo works in the repertoire, offering fire- works and percussive effects as well as exquisite melancholy.

Powerful and also subtly characterizing, Vittorio Grigòlo makes a convincing return after a long break: with verismo arias from Mascagni, Cilea to Puccini, in which the celebrated tenor gives his all.

Luciano Pavarotti One of the most successful and admired opera singers of all time, Luciano Pavarotti was king among tenors from the late 1960s through the 1990s. His voice was noted for its exciting upper register, and tailor-made for the operas of Verdi, Bellini, Donizetti, and Puccini, and as it darkened slightly over the years, for the verismo composers as well. His vocal longevity, which kept him singing youthfully well into his sixties, and still beautifully after that, was a credit to his commanding technique and artistry, and remarkable considering his nearly 40 years of performing.