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| Astor Piazzolla |
| Born in Buenos Aires in 1921, he spent most of his childhood in New York. He returned to Argentina and became active in the musical community as a composer, arranger and bandoneon (a button accordion, the tango's signature instrument) player. In 1944 he formed a band of his own and also began to study classical music. In 1954, he moved to Paris to study under Nadia Boulanger (the famed French conductor and teacher of music composition), determined to become a serious composer. When he played one of his tangos for her, she urged him to go back to his heritage, declaring "This is Piazzolla!" He did, and soon revolutionized tango music, creating a style that blended elements of classical music and jazz with the romance and voluptuousness of the tango - which has since seen its elevation from the dance floor to the concert hall where tango music is now performed by classical chamber ensembles and symphony orchestras. |
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