Album

Except for the Stravinsky Tango at the beginning and pianist Amy Briggs' transcription of Astor Piazzolla's Escualo at the end, this collection of tangos is all contemporary. Most of them come from a pair of sources: an all-tango concert mounted by Briggs at the University of California at Davis during the 2003-2004 academic year, involving tangos from several composers on the faculty there as well as other newly commissioned works, and a similar project undertaken in the 1980s and early '90s by late American pianist Yvar Mikhashoff. The result is probably more entertaining for lovers of contemporary music than for tango fans, for the basic rhythms of tango serve more as a general inspiration than as a restriction in most of the pieces. This said, the variety of ideas is impressive, and there's something very intriguing about watching each composer adapt the tango to his or her individual style. The project works well because the tango is such a protean thing: a collection of rhythms, to begin with, some heavily syncopated and some in which the syncopation is more a matter of grace notes. Some composers are naturals for the tango; hear the stomping, heavy, and entirely characteristic Steptangle by Frederic Rzewski. Others, such as Yu-Hui Chang, use the tango primarily as a source of atmosphere, and quite a few play off of and develop the tango rhythm, using or disturbing its motoric quality as a work proceeds. All the pieces are short, with only one clocking in at over five minutes, and none is either baffling or really oriented toward crossover. An intriguing item for anyone interested in the classical uses of popular dance rhythms.

© James Manheim, Rovi

CD 1
Igor Stravinsky Composer Tango Work Amy Briggs Piano
1	Tango	3:34			$0.99
David Smooke Composer Requests, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
2	Requests, for piano	2:48			$0.99
Ralph Shapey Composer Tango Variations on a Cantus, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
3	Tango Variations on a Cantus, for piano	3:16			$0.99
David Rakowski Composer Zipper Tango (Tango étude on grace notes), for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
4	Zipper Tango (Tango étude on grace notes), for piano	3:18			$0.99
Conlon Nancarrow Composer Tango?, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
5	Tango?, for piano	2:51			$0.99
Nils Vigeland Composer Tango à deux, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
6	Tango à deux, for piano	3:12			$0.99
Stacy Garrop Composer Teeny Tango, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
7	Teeny Tango, for piano	1:27			$0.99
Beth Wiemann Composer Tango Beep Beep, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
8	Tango Beep Beep, for piano	3:00			$0.99
Frederic Rzewski Composer Steptangle, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
9	Steptangle, for piano	3:05			$0.99
Jason Eckardt Composer Tango Clandestino, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
10	Tango Clandestino, for piano	4:14			$0.99
Lou Harrison Composer Tandy's Tango Work Amy Briggs Piano
11	Tandy's Tango	2:59			$0.99
Hayes Biggs Composer Tagrango (Being a Brief Identity Crisis for Piano Solo), for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
12	Tagrango (Being a Brief Identity Crisis for Piano Solo), for piano	1:40			$0.99
Amy Williams Composer Astoria, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
13	Astoria, for piano	3:29			$0.99
Yu-Hui Chang Composer Tangled in Smoke, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
14	Tangled in Smoke, for piano	3:02			$0.99
Per Nørgård Composer Esperanza (Hermit Crab Tango), for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
15	Esperanza (Hermit Crab Tango), for piano	2:58			$0.99
Ross Bauer Composer Mango, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
16	Mango, for piano	2:50			$0.99
Pablo Ortiz Composer Piglia, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
17	Piglia, for piano	3:36			$0.99
Jukka Tiensuu Composer Fantango for harpsichord Work Amy Briggs Piano
18	Fantango for harpsichord	5:29			$0.99
Jeffrey Mumford Composer Tango-Variations, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
19	Tango-Variations, for piano	2:49			$0.99
Jeffrey Mumford Composer Tango Si, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
20	Tango Si, for piano	1:32			$0.99
Laura San Martin Composer Tangozilla, for piano Work Amy Briggs Piano
21	Tangozilla, for piano	2:34			$0.99
Astor Piazzolla Composer Escualo, tango for chamber ensemble Work Amy Briggs Piano
22	Escualo, tango for chamber ensemble	3:51			$0.99