Tag Archives: tango

An Old Polish Tango (sung in Polish and Hebrew)

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Władysław Lidauer (1890-died in 1940s during nazi occupation)

Władisław Lidauer was a Polish/Jewish composer who wrote one of the most popular Polish tangos of the late 1930s: Graj, skrzypku, graj! (Play, violin, play!). The lyrics of the tango were originally written by Zdrojewski and translated by Biderman. The composer, Władisław Lidauer died in the Warsaw ghetto.

During WWII, the recording I have included in this blog post was sent to Tel Aviv. The musicians on the recording are singer Olga Mielszczuk, pianist Hadrian Tabeçki, violinist Grzegorz Lalek, and Bassist Wojciech Pulcyn. I hope that you enjoy this music. I find it to be quite a catchy tune.

La Cumparsita – Hassan Sharara (violin), Emad Hamdy (guitar)

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The tango La Cumparsita was composed by Gerardo Matos Rodriguez (1897-1948) in 1916.  Lyrics were written by Pascual Contursi and Enrique Pedro Maroni.  It is one of the most famous tangos.  the piece began its life as a march.  After it was written, Rodriguez had his friend Manuel Barca show it to orchestral leader Roberto Firpo.  Firpo decided to turn the piece into a tango.  It was named the cultural and popular anthem of Uruguay in 1997.

Here is La Cumparsita (in tango form) played by two Arabic musicians at the Cairo Opera House in Egypt.  The musicians are Hassan Sharara and Emad Hamdy.  They arranged the piece for violin and guitar.  Sharara plays the violin and Hamdy plays the guitar. I hope that you enjoy this music!

 

Astor Piazzolla – Milonga del Angel

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Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)

Astor Piazzolla was an Argentinian tango composer, arranger, and bandoneon virtuoso (the bandoneon is a type of accordion).  He invented a modern style of tango music called tango nuevo (a style of tango that uses elements of jazz and classical music).

A milonga is a dance that is similar to a tango. It is usually a faster dance then the tango and there aren’t any pauses between steps. The dance is more humourous and rustic compared to a serious and dramatic tango.

Here is a milonga by Piazzolla called Milonga del Angel (Milonga of the Angel) I hope you enjoy it. The musicians are Astor Piazzolla (bandoneón), Fernando Suarez Paz (violín), Oscar Lopez Ruiz (electric guitar), Hector Console (bass), Pablo Ziegler (piano).