With this new recording, SpiriTango have chosen to take their first steps into the world of jazz, film and contemporary classical music. Iti s also the fourth anniversary of the group, whose energy is most evident in the celebratory title track 'Chin Chin'.
Astor Piazzolla (1921–92) was an infant prodigy on the bandoneon. He emigrated with his family to New York when he was only three years old, then returned to Buenos Aires in 1937. There he performed in concert, arranged other musicians’ music and studied classical music under Ginastera. Ten years later, he composed a symphony for which he was awarded a scholarship which enabled him to study in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, who encouraged him to write tango music.
Condemned at the time by purists, Piazzolla is now considered in Argentina as the saviour of tango, which had been in decline since the 1950s. Later called 'nuevo tango', Piazzola’s tango introduced fugues, chromatism, dissonance, some elements of jazz and even sometimes an extended instrumentation. In this recording, the SpiriTango Quartet have made their own arrangements, based on the original quintet versions. The group has shared the guitar parts between the piano and the double bass and have also rewritten the different cadences.
