2313 Astor Piazzolla's BDay
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2004 11:01:31 -0500
From: ozeng <ozeng@NEURO.DUKE.EDU>
Subject: Astor Piazzolla's BDay
Today is Astor Piazzolla's birthday. We will celebrate his music, his creativity and his "not-giving-in-to-the-popular-demand" attitude which =
made him the "black sheep" of the "tango family" back in Buenos Aires when he was already becoming a celebrity all around the world...
There has been endless discussions on this list about Piazzolla's feelings towards the tango dancers and most of the time it has been =
argued that "he disliked the tango dancers", "he didn't want his music to be danced to" etc. Well, here is a piece published in Reportango =
(February 2003, Issue # 27), from an interview with Juan Carlos Copes:
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"My life with Astor was very profound. I believe that he always considered me a friend and I believe that from the pedestal where I held =
him I always offered him what I could humbly do. Approaching that music that made me fly so much, it made me fantasize, but also approaching him =
and feeling like his friend was very satisfying. I had some sort of idolatry towards him.
I remember when I met him. I was a crazy amateur back then. It was the year 1952 and those that have any memory of those days will remember =
they would kick out the milongueros from all the popular places. And I said, "I have to continue with this in some way, I can't leave it." And =
besides learning other dances (dances that I was never very good at), like contemporary, acrobatic, choreography, I felt I was very limited =
with what I knew. So, I began to pay attention to the music.
"A Fuego Lento" by Salgan was one of the first tangos with which a group of inexperienced friends and I worked, then one day I listened to =
Piazzolla. Then I became a habitue of his concerts, which he often played on the radio with his quartet. And one day I went to the =
Patagonia Theater and I told him: "Look Astor, I have a small group with amateur dancers and we are doing little stories about BA, not only with =
couples but also telling stories and I would like you to see one that we did with your tango "Contrabajeando." It seems that was a good =
introduction, because he came by to see us.
....
He saw it, thanked us, and left. And then I realized that I still have a long way to go to realize what Piazzolla had in mind. That was my first =
physical contact with him. Until his last words in Rio de Janeiro after a performance, he came, gave me a very strong hug and told me: "Man, who =
said that Piazzolla could not be danced?"
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Thank you Astor, again, on your birthday, for giving us all that you have created.
Gulden Ozen
Tangophilia/North Carolina
