23/8 part 1

Histoire du Tango

Astor Piazzola's music for guitar and flute

Konstantina Malapani (guitar)
Theodora Apostolidou (flute)

Histoire du Tango was composed in 1985 by Astor Piazzolla and is his only work for flute and guitar. This work is one of A. Piazzolla’s most famous compositions and describes through its four parts the history and evolution of the Tango form from 1900 to the present day.

“Bordello, 1900” is the first part of the suite whose music is full of grace and vitality and was played in the “bordellos” of the time.

“Café, 1930” is the second part of the suite and represents the period when people prefer to listen to the Tango rather than dance to it. It is the period when Tango is completely transformed, becoming slower, more romantic and with new usually melancholic melodies.

“Nightclub, 1960” is the third part of the suite and describes the time when Brazilian Bossa Nova and Argentine Tango meet and move to the same rhythm. Audiences rush to nightclubs to listen this new Tango. The fast and rhythmic elements meet the slow expressive melodies which leads to a profound change in some of the original forms of Tango.

“Concert d’aujourd’hui” is the fourth and final movement of the suite. This movement describes the time when certain concepts in Tango music become intertwined with modern music. It is the Tango of today and the tango of the future as well.

Guitar: Konstantina Malapani
Flute: Theodora Apostolidou