“Luminosa Buenos Aires” – PIAZZOLLA: Las Cuatro Estaciones Portenas, for guitar, bandoneon and strings; Double Concerto “Hommage a Liege”; M.D. PUJOL: Double Concerto “Luminosa Buenos Aires” – Giampaolo Bandini, guitar/Cesare Chiacchiaretta, bandoneon/I Musici di Parma Chamber Orch. – Concerto CD 2052, 1:1:26 [Distr. by Naxos] *****:
There have been many tango-flavored CDs lately – authentic Argentine ensembles, jazz groups, classical orchestras and chamber groups. This one stands out for its overall beauty in bringing us not only the two more classical-slanted Piazzolla pieces but also the world premiere recording of a lovely new double concerto by Pujol dedicated to the Bandini-Chiacchiavetta Duo who perform it here.
In four movements, the Pujol concerto expresses the different moods and tempos that one would experience going thru the streets and alleys of Buenos Aires. His very melodic work honors Buenos Aires, and as the composer says, “lights up the souls of those who live there or who love the city.”
The first of the Piazzolla works was transcribed from the composer’s original four-movement piece for tango ensemble. The portenas of the title refers to the port of Buenos Aires as a meeting place for different cultures, some of them exotic. The three-movement double concerto – only the last an actual tango – was composed in the early 1980s and is constructed on a constant dialog between the guitar and bandoneon. There is a strong Italian influence in tango music, and these Italian musicians are perfect in this live performance recording.
– John Sunier
