Tango is the product of people drawn together on the margins of Buenos Aires in the late nineteenth century. From the slum districts on the outskirts of the capital to the ports, the music of the people merged – Andalusian Flamenco, southern Italian melodies, Cuban habanera, African candomblé percussion and milonga. Alexander Sevastian, the four-time first prize winner of international accordion competitions, offers here a virtuosic version of some of the great tangos by Piazzolla and other famous composers. Emotion and first class virtuosity!

Tango is the product of people drawn together on the margins of Buenos Aires in the late nineteenth century. From the pimps and prostitutes of the bars and slum districts on the outskirts of the capital to the ports of Montevideo and Rio de la Plata, the music of the people merged – Andalusian Flamenco, southern Italian melodies, Cuban habanera, African candomblé percussion and milonga (the Argentine gaucho song). Machismo and violence were part of the tango culture, with male dancers often having a predatory and threatening quality. The spirit of tango music is expressed in a famous tango lyric: “I will make my heart drunk, so I can toast to the frustration of love”.

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) was a pioneer of “tango nuevo” or “new tango”. He was the first tango composer whose music made the giant leap from dance clubs and cabarets to world-class stages. Franck Angelis, who is very well known in accordion circles, has made a wonderful composition based on Piazzolla’s tango Chiquilín de Bachín (A Little Boy from Bachin). This piece has numerous dramatic cadenzas, virtuosic variations and a gorgeous melody.