Premiere “Puur” by Kraayenhof Tango Ensemble

The 24th of September the premiere of the programme ‘Puur’ (‘Pure’) by the Kraayenhof Tango Ensemble will take place in the main hall of the Tropentheatre in Amsterdam. Don’t forget to make reservations for this concert on www.tropentheater.nl.

This new ensemble with the musicians Carel Kraayenhof (artistic leader, bandoneon), Juan Pablo Dobal (piano), Tijmen Huisingh (1th violin), Bert Vos (2th violin), Ernst Graperhaus (viola), Karel Brederhorst (cello) and Jaap Branderhorst (double bass) will specialize in the repertoire of the ‘tango nuevo’.

In the programme ‘Puur’ of this ensemble of bandoneonist Carel Kraayenhof composer Astor Piazzolla will be central. This brilliant ‘father of the tango nuevo’ succeeded in making a beautiful connection between Argentinian tango, North-American jazz and classical music. His work is characterized by a mixture of stylized agression and cultivated melancholy.

The meditative ‘Asleep’ Piazzolla wrote for the Kronos Kwartet. It is the first part of the ‘Five Tango Sensations’.

‘Milongón Festivo’ (‘Festive Milonga’) shows varying moods and has been influenced by the dance milonga and the festive candombe with African roots.

‘Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas’ (‘Four seasons of Buenos Aires’) is Piazzollas answer to ‘The Four Seasons’ of Antonio Vivaldi. It  evokes the image of this enormous metropole with its turbulent nightlife.

His most famous work, Adios Nonino’ (‘Bye Daddy’) he wrote as a tribute to his father, Vicente ‘Nonino’ Piazzolla. It is beloved in our country since the marriage of princess Maxima and prince Willem-Alexander.

‘Il Postino’ (‘The Postman’) is the moving music in the film of the same name, with which the Argentinian composer Luis Bacalov won an Oscar.

‘Suite Compasión’ Carel Kraayenhof wrote as an homage to Astor Piazzolla, who invited him in 1987 as bandoneonsoloist in the musical ‘Tango Apasionado’ in New York. Originated as a reaction on the disaster in China in 2008 and his benefit-concert in Bejing, the wild first part is titled ‘Terremoto’ (‘Earthquake’), introduced by ‘La Marea’ (‘The tide’). The slow, moving second part is called ‘Compassion’ and is followed by the strong, energetic final ‘Fuerza!’ (‘Keep courage’)

‘Te llevo en mi alma’ (‘I carry you in my soul’), on the rhythm of the Cuban bolero, Carel dedicated to his father, died in 2006, who gave him a piano when Carel was eight years of age.

‘Desconcierto’ (‘Desperation’) is carried by the guitar-rhythm of the gauchos, the ‘milonga campera’.

‘A fuego lento’ (‘On a small fire’), with its driving rhythm, was a pioneering tango which typifies Horacio Salgáns work.

‘Grillito’ (‘Little cricket’) he composed for his naughty little son, who smeared caramelpaste (dulce de leche) between the keys of his fathers grand piano.