Astor Piazzolla: Oblivion

Francesco Fiore said “When Maestro Salvatore Accardo asked me to realize for him and for the Orchestra da Camera Italiana an extensive series of transcriptions and revisions of pieces by Astor Piazzolla, with whom Maestro Accardo had been connected by a great friendship, I was happy and honored to accept the task, also because the musical problems that I was going to deal with were varied and engaging.

We were, in fact, concerned with recreating the atmospheres and the spirit typical of Piazzolla’s music through an orchestral writing not only suitable for a string ensemble, but more specifically reflecting the distinctive style and sound which is the result of the intense and passionate work carried out by Maestro Accardo together with the Orchestra da Camera Italiana. In this sense, the piece that was the most problematic to realize was ‘Gran Tango’, since the highly characterized writing of the piano part presented numerous problems of transcription for stringed instruments, which, compared to the piano, have a lesser ability to play percussively.

Furthermore, the variety of character of the different pieces has called in some cases for the need to vary the sonority of the strings, by occasionally resorting to particular emissions of sound that could imitate, or, better, evocate, the instruments typical of South American popular music.

The thought that never abandoned me during the writing of the scores was not only the memory of Astor Piazzolla, ingenious composer, master of many diverse styles (film music, tango, pieces of classical structure such as fugues etc.) on which he was able to impose the strength and honesty of his personality of musician, so varied and deep, thus moving and thrilling listeners of different age, sensitivity and taste; but also and especially the image of Piazzolla as a virtuoso of bandoneon, a small instrument of huge possibilities, with which he was able to reach supreme peaks of expressiveness, through a relentless rhythmical style which, nevertheless, could offer moments of ineffable nostalgia and lyricism.”

Salvatore Accardo – Violin & Music Director
Orchestra da Camera Italiana