Argentinian-born, to Italian parents, Astor PIazzolla (1921-92) grew up in New York, absorbing Spanish, English, Italian and French-speaking cultures in his singular kind of tango – some 3,000 works, not strictly traditional, prompting a new style known as nuevo tango. Piazzolla’s output is most familiar as concert music, especially in suave arrangement such as these, idiomatically played by this young trio of bandoneon, violin and harp. The central work is the Histoire du Tango (1986), a musical history of the form in six movements from 1900 to the present arranged for violin and harp (instead of the original flute and guitar). It is elegant, smooth and refined, if perhaps lacking that essential whiff of smoky bordello.
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