It can be no surprise that Piazzolla was accused of "strange ideas and senseless modernism" when he presented his "tango nuevo" in Argentina in the 1950's. This "new tango" retained the basic mood of sadness, desperation, disappointment and frustration typical of the "traditional" tango, but at the same time used elements from the areas of classical music, jazz and rock, and thereby seems to have a more compli cated and elaborate structure. Piazzolla's tangos are no longer mere "dance music", but works of art for the concert hall, for attentive listening - no wonder that many classical musicians of the late twentieth century, discovered, embraced and performed Piazzolla's works in their programs. Our current program features a selection of Piazolla's most completely realized compositions in thrilling new arrangements for piano trio and performed by three of Europe's most distinguished soloists.
