06/19/2025
Astor Piazzolla - A Retrospective Of The Future
https://www.boyjah-publishing.com/a-retrospective-of-the-future
Astor Piazzolla (11 March 1921 - 4 July 1992) was not only the great revolutionary of Tango and one of the best bandoneon instrumentalists in history, but he was also one of the most important and great composers who contributed to the musical history of the twentieth century. Astor Piazzolla, from the cradle, was an accumulation of contradictions, rarities and exceptional facts. An "extra-ordinary" being that was undoubtedly born with the mark of the chosen ones, of the greats, but who added a lot of effort, work and passion to his works. Piazzolla grew up listening to Tango in his home and Jazz outside of it. He fell in love with Bach as a child while at the same time listening to Cab Calloway or Duke Ellington live. And although he was born in a maritime city of the South Atlantic (Mar del Plata) he grew up in the most cosmopolitan city in the world at a time of turmoil and growth. In New York he received his first bandoneón but back to his native Mar del Plata he learned to play Tango; and then he went on to develop it in the place he had to go, the universal capital of tango, the city of Buenos Aires. At the age of 20 he was already a precocious genius who played the bandoneon and arranged songs for the best tango orchestra of the golden age of classical tango, that of Anibal Troilo. At 23 he already studied with Alberto Ginastera and dreamed of being a concert pianist or composing symphonies. And everything was mixed, a swirling combination from his inner being : De Caro and Stravinsky, Vardaro and Bach, Gobbi and Art Tatum, Bartok and Gil Evans, Gardel and Chick Corea, Pugliese and Miles Davis, Laurenz & Maffia and Emerson Lake & Palmer. But the new thing, the wonderful thing, is that something unique and different came out of that musical cocktail: Piazzolla's music came out, which we could classify as a genre in itself. A music that starts from the Tango, which also contains it, that brings together the musicians named above (and many more) but at the same time has its own identity and personality. Because, and this should be very clear at this point, Piazzolla did not kill Tango (as they accused him for decades), on the contrary: Piazzolla saved it, gave it new life, made it grow, evolve.
In this volume the world renowned author Marcelo Gobello (academic of the National Academy of Tango, the Porteña Academy of Lunfardo and honorary member of the Astor Piazzolla Foundation chaired by his widow, Laura Escalada Piazzolla) makes an agile and focussed journey through the artistic (and life) trajectory of Astor, with special emphasis on the creation of the New Tango Quintet in 1960 and how he arrived at it, since it is vital and fundamental to understand and know the path of Astor well.
We must also highlight an annex dedicated to "Astor Piazzolla and the Cinema" where the most important of his production of 42 original soundtracks for films nationally and internationally is highlighted, a revealing discography and exclusive photographic material. It is a work that maintains the flame of the music and style of one of the greatest creators, instrumentalists and composers that he has created, not only for the twentieth century, but for the history of all humanity, because his music (in addition to beautiful) is eternal and infinite.
About the author
Marcelo Gobello is a journalist, writer and cultural manager with an extensive career in the field of contemporary popular music. His more than thirty books dedicated to popular music, especially Rock and Tango (four of them published in Europe by Editorial Lenoir of Barcelona) have become references used by other professionals, being cited as bibliography in Universities in Argentina, the United States, Chile and Spain, among other countries. He is the author of the renowned book “Astor Piazzolla, his city and his world” (Bs.As. 2015, Ed. Corregidor), an award-winning research work on the link between Astor Piazzolla and his hometown, Mar del Plata. He was General Director of Culture of the Municipality of General Pueyrredón, Director of the Teatro Municipal Colón of Mar del Plata, Director of the Artistic Organizations of the Culture Secretariat, Director of Culture of the Mar del Plata Museum and Professor of Communication Theory in the official Journalism course.
In October 2007 he was appointed “Corresponding Academician for the city of Mar del Plata” of the Academia Porteña del Lunfardo. In 2008 he was invited to collaborate as a specialist in a documentary about Astor Piazzolla for the NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation (the Official Television of Japan). In 2009 he gave five lectures on “Astor Piazzolla and Cinema” within the framework of the 24th Mar del Plata International Film Festival. In December 2010 he was awarded the “Lobo De Mar” Prize in the Literature category and in September 2013 he was appointed by its president Horacio Ferrer as “Corresponding Academician for the city of Mar del Plata” of the Academia Nacional del Tango. Since 2014, he has been in charge (production, musical programming and announcing) of the radio program LA HORA DE ASTOR, which is heard throughout the country from Radio Brisas de Mar del Plata, a program entirely dedicated to the work of Astor Piazzolla. The program was distinguished with six nominations in the radio category “Citizen Music or Tango” at the Martin Fierro awards given by A.P.T.R.A., having won the precious statuette three times, the most recent time in 2023. Thanks to the prestige gained, the program was incorporated into the Radio Nacional de la Argentina schedule.
He has given numerous talks and conferences nationally and internationally about Popular Music in general and about Astor Piazzolla and his legacy in particular, being recognized by the Honorable Deliberative Council of the city of Mar del Plata, the Ministry of Culture and Education of the Republic of Uruguay in 2015, by the Chamber of Deputies of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires in 2017 and in March 2021 he was awarded in Montevideo by the International Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Mercosur with the "2020/21 Latin American Excellence Award" for his vast career. He is considered one of the most important authorities worldwide on Astor Piazzolla. He was an advisor to the exhibition “Piazzolla 100” (at the C.C.K) which opened in March 2021 on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Astor Piazzolla and has been named an honorary member of the Astor Piazzolla Foundation, chaired by the musician's widow, Laura Escalada Piazzolla.
In 2024, he was named Cultural Ambassador of the international foundation Peace For Life and the Honorable Deliberative Council of the Municipality of Gral. Pueyrredón declared of interest the "ASTOR PIAZZOLLA" chair that Gobello offers at the Popular University that operates in the Union of Commercial Employees.
