Astor Piazzolla
"OBLIVION"
for Guitar Piano Duo
"OBLIVION"
for Guitar Piano Duo
Arr. Michael Gunadi Widjaja
The Story of Astor Piazzolla & Nadia Boulanger
"The Point of NO RETURN"
Astor Piazzolla is best known for being the father
and inventor of Tango Nuevo
- a revolutionary new genre in which Jazz rhythms
and classical music were infused into Tango.
When Astor begins to learn with Nadia Boulanger in Paris (1954),
he is so embarrassed with his non-classical tango past
that he hides it from her.
"I was very ashamed to tell her that I was a tango musician.
Finally I said, "I play in a night club." I didn't want to say cabaret.
And she answered,
"Night club, mais oui, but that is a cabaret, isn't it?"
"Yes," I answered, and thought,
"I'll hit this woman in the head with a radio..."
It wasn't easy to lie to her.
She kept asking:
"You say that you are not pianist.
What instrument do you play, then?"
And I didn't want to tell her that I was a bandoneón player,
because I thought,
"Then she will throw me from the fourth floor."
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger & Astor Piazzolla
Finally, I confessed and she asked me to play some bars of a Tango of my own.
She suddenly opened her eyes, took my hand and told me:
"You idiot, that's Piazzolla!"
And I took all the music I composed,
ten years of my life, and sent it to hell in two seconds...
"Astor, your classical pieces are well written,
but the true Piazzolla is here, never leave it behind".
ABOUT "OBLIVION"
Astor Piazzolla's Oblivion was composed in 1982 as a chamber ensemble.
This
piece was one of Astor Piazzolla's most famous Tangos,
and it became
mostly popular when it was released
on the soundtrack of Marco
Bellochio's film Henry IV, the Mad King.
It's one of the most famous
Tango work ever done by Astor Piazzolla,
and remains one of his best.
and remains one of his best.
It's a wonderful Tango that inspires many people,
and is full of strong
emotion and beautiful melodies.
It's the elegance and inspiration all
wrapped up into beautiful movements.
The melody is extremely melancholic and almost depressing.
The melody is extremely melancholic and almost depressing.
With long notes and beautiful,
alternating notes and elegant figures,
Oblivion is a song that spins a
sad tale of love and woe.
"True silence is the rest of the mind;
it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body,
nourishment and refreshment.
And if tonight my soul may find peace in sleep,
and sink in good oblivion,
and in the morning wake like a new opened flower..."
it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body,
nourishment and refreshment.
And if tonight my soul may find peace in sleep,
and sink in good oblivion,
and in the morning wake like a new opened flower..."
Astor Piazzolla "OBLIVION"
(for Guitar Piano Duo)
(for Guitar Piano Duo)
Rearr. Michael Gunadi Widjaja
Pianolicious Moment @ Istituto Italiano, Jakarta - October 7th, 2012