Search - Astor Piazzolla, Pablo Ziegler, Karin Lechner :: Tangología

Imperfect Realizations of Perfect Compositions

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 04/20/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As I am an avid fan of the music of Astor Piazzolla, I am willing to listen to almost any new interpretation of his music, particularly when many of my favorite compositions are covered. Tangologia came across my radar via an amazon recommendation and since I liked what I saw when I viewed the tracklisting, I ordered it.

Well, my first impressions are that while I enjoyed the CD, that these are imperfect realizations of some very perfect compositions. First, there is the seldom covered Grand Tango. Compare the rendition on Tangologia with the one done years ago by Gidon Kremer. I am happy to hear it covered but this one falls short of the standard set there. Then there is that grand Porteno musical suite Las Cuatro Estaciones. While it is competently presented here, it just doesn't have that special something that characterizes the greatest interpretations. I find that oftentimes one musician or the other is unable to keep up with the demands of the music. If you know the pieces well, you'll hear what I mean as you listen.

Perhaps the most elegantly realized cuts are the piano duos on Piazzolla's signature Adios Nonino and on Pablo Ziegler's Asfalto.

That I give Tangologia only three stars doesn't mean I won't listen again, but I don't think there is anything here even with arrangements by old Piazzolla sidemen Pablo Ziegler and Jose Bragato that makes this CD a must have item for fans of either Piazzolla or Ziegler."