Piazzolla

[Guest]

Have the BBC got shares in Piazolla? He's on all the time.

And - IMHO - a minor composer with little to say. A audio version of Jack Vettriano. You see his paintings for the first time and think, "How unusual". But after a few viewing/hearings, you realise it's all the same.

[Suffolkcoastal]

I'm in total agreement when so many outstanding composers are continually ignored or given only the minimal amount of airtime, his music was grossly overplayed in 2009, though it eased off a bit in 2010, but he now seems to be heading back to 2009 levels this year. R3's fascination with this total mediocrity totally baffles me.

[rubbernecker]

A audio version of Jack Vettriano.

Mind you, you can say that about a lot of 'contemporary' composers

[french frank]

R3's fascination with this total mediocrity totally baffles me.

It's not just R3, though. People like Gidon Kremer and Yo Yo Ma have been championing his work. I think it's because he was 'discovered' by the classical world relatively late, so he's still an in thing. As far as R3 is concerned, he's also approved of because like Gershwin and Bernstein he straddles the world of classical and popular. Nothing too heavy and immediately attractive.

[Laurence Target]

It's not just R3, though. People like Gidon Kremer and Yo Yo Ma have been championing his work. I think it's because he was 'discovered' by the classical world relatively late, so he's still an in thing. As far as R3 is concerned, he's also approved of because like Gershwin and Bernstein he straddles the world of classical and popular. Nothing too heavy and immediately attractive.

Immediately irritating, I find; much like Gershwin and Bernstein.

[vinteuil]

Immediately irritating, I find; much like Gershwin and Bernstein.

my thoughts exactly...

[Pianorak]

Oh, ok – so maybe Piazzolla's output has a touch of sameness about it, but I would make a plea for his Concierto para Bandoneón as well as his “Ángel” trilogy (Milonga del ángel; La muerte del ángel; Resurrección del ángel) for piano which is great fun to play.
Another one of my favourites is a recording by the Cuarteto Latinoamericano and Cesar Olguin, Bandoneón, called Five For Tango which has a.o. transcriptions of the above Ángel trilogy for string quartet and bandoneón. Very addictive!

[MrGongGong]

Oh, ok – so maybe Piazzolla's output has a touch of sameness about it,

Unlike Scarlatti then
seems a bit of a daft criticism to me
one of the things I love about Feldmans music is that it DOES have more than a touch of "sameness about it" !

many years ago I went to hear Status Quo at a rock festival , I wasn't disappointed that 98% of what they played only used three chords !

or

"Contrast is for people who can't write music." La Monte Young

[Pianorak]

. . . seems a bit of a daft criticism to me

Daft's my middle name.

[Suffolkcoastal]

The comparison with Gershwin and certainly Bernstein isn't a fair one. Both of them are many classes above Piazzolla and both can hardly be called total mediocrities unlike Piazzolla. Gershwin suffers from being overplayed on R3 and Bernstein from having the same handful of works played ad nauseaum and having some of his best scores virtually ignored on R3 these days. As for the bandoneon, horrible sounding instrument even worse than the steel guitar IMO.

[MrGongGong]

so how much of his music have you actually listened to ?
in order to make this assessment

[Serial_Apologist]

Unlike Scarlatti then
seems a bit of a daft criticism to me
one of the things I love about Feldmans music is that it DOES have more than a touch of "sameness about it" !

many years ago I went to hear Status Quo at a rock festival , I wasn't disappointed that 98% of what they played only used three chords !

or

"Contrast is for people who can't write music." La Monte Young

I disagree with this on two counts.

Firstly Scarlatti does not have any kind of sameness about either of him, imo.

Secondly, there's the right kind (eg Palestrina), and the wrong kind (eg Piazzola) of sameness.

[BetweenTheStaves]

That's unfair...and I'm with Pianorak..Piazzolla does have some good stuff....like all composers...some bits you like and some you don't...it comes down to personal preference.

[french frank]

The comparison with Gershwin and certainly Bernstein isn't a fair one.

I only mentioned them because they are two more 20th century composers, like Piazzolla, who can 'safely' be played on Breakfast/In Tune. They give the impression that the music on these programmes have a wide chronological spread without actually upsetting 'the wider audience'.

[MickyD]

I have a CD issued in the early 1990s of Piazzolla's music recorded on two harpsichords and it works amazingly well. But I don't think I'm going to convince any of the MBs here!