If you missed this on its original issue back in 1996, here's your chance to acquire one of the better orchestral tango recordings of music by the inimitable Astor Piazzolla. What's more, the reissue comes in a hardbound, 96-page "deluxe edition" CD-size book containing detailed information on the music, Piazzolla, and the tango, comments by conductor Josep Pons, and pages of artsy, sexy, sepia-toned photographs of various tango-dancing couples.

Through his life, Piazzolla's passion was the music of Argentina, which meant the tango, and through his development of tango nuevo he made "respectable" what originally was urban dance music of the working classes in Buenos Aires. Of course, he did this by taking the very elements that gave this music its earthy appeal--excited, swirling, sensuous melody, pulsing ostinato, syncopation--and recast them in more sophisticated forms, particularly regarding rhythm (including polyrhythmic structures and irregular divisions) and harmonies derived from jazz and classical styles.

In the excellent Concerto for Bandonéon we can hear both the sultry chromatic slides in the strings reminiscent of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and the highly charged rhythms characteristic of Bernstein's West Side Story or On the Waterfront. The concerto is a masterpiece, not for any focus on extended virtuoso solo playing, but for its masterful integration of bandonéon and orchestra, as well as for its successful evocation of the living, breathing, dynamically fluid life that the tango represents. Also memorable here are the five Piazzolla tangos arranged by Lluís Vidal, especially Invierno porteño, Milonga del ángel, and Adiós nonino.

There's no doubt about the credentials or commitment of bandonéon player Pablo Mainetti or conductor Josep Pons, and they certainly make powerful advocates for this infectious, immediately appealing, often misunderstood music. But all you have to do is listen; your senses will soon take over, and you can't help but enjoy, even if you don't understand. [5/7/2007]

--David Vernier