Piazzolla Anniversary Concert – Naumburg Bandshell (Central Park) – August 7, 2012
This is one of those concerts for which no title seems exactly right. Astor Piazzolla was the astonishing nuevo tango composer (and bandoneon player) who gave new direction to that musical genre in the latter 20th century. In 1987, his combo (which included pianist Pablo Ziegler) gave a concert at the Naumburg. The nucleus for the present concert is Ziegler’s quartet, augmented with fiddler Lara St. John, who grew up under the influence of tango music and Ziegler in particular. The program is a partial recreation of the 1987 concert, as well as some Ziegler originals that send the music in expansive directions. It was more crowded than I expected, so sketching was done at a distance while standing. I went with a full open-page spread at a fortuitous spot in the sketchbook where the binding threads (some still visible in the cleaned-up sketch) were exposed. By the time a seat opened up, darkness precluded additional work, so I just sat and enjoyed. The concert, together with interspersed live interviews of Ziegler and St. John, was also broadcast live on WQXR.
Piazzolla Concert Band