CAP UCLA Presents Quinteto Astor Piazzolla En 3x4

UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) presents Quinteto Astor Piazzolla's En 3x4, Sunday, November 1 at 3 p.m. Prerecorded live from Buenos Aires for CAP UCLA, the performance will be free to enjoy with an RSVP. For more information on engaging with this season's digital stage, visit https://cap.ucla.edu/landing/capconnect.

The music of En 3x4 begins with some of the most intense compositions; Verano Porteño, Camorra III and En 3x4. All are overwhelming samples of the rhythmic power Piazzolla added to the traditional tango. The affirmative personality is imposed even in the lyrical pieces like Soledad or Milonga del Ángel, which seem to give up their character before their most passionate sections. The closing of this overwhelming selection is the hymn of the Nuevo Tango Piazzolleano Adios Nonino followed by the inevitable classic Libertango.

A master of the bandoneon, a large button accordion noted for its unwieldy size and difficult fingering system, Piazzolla revolutionized the tango, transforming earthy, sensual, even disreputable folk music into a sophisticated form of high art. Elevating tango from the dance halls onto the concert stage. A virtuosic performer, he was also an adventurous composer, borrowing from jazz and classical musical forms to create an entirely new harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary dubbed "nuevo tango."

Before Piazzolla's death in 1992, he continued to experiment with form throughout his lifetime, recording with a wide array of musicians including Gerry Mulligan, Gary Burton, the New York Philharmonic and, appearing in this season's Tune In Festival, Kronos Quartet.

The current Quintet of five virtuoso soloists have travelled the world for more than 20 years, sharing Piazzolla's music with a new generation. All acclaimed musicians in their own right, the Quintet brings a sense of freshness as if they're emerging directly from the composer's thinking.

Funds for En 3x4 were provided in part by the Merle & Peter Mullin Endowment for the Performing Arts.

CAP UCLA presents

Quinteto Astor Piazzolla

En 3x4

Sun, Nov. 1, 2020, at 3 p.m.

Prerecorded from Buenos Aires for CAP UCLA

Free with RSVP

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