About Astor Piazzolla

Only late in his career, with his Tango Nuevo quintet, did Astor Piazzolla achieve the creative level he aspired to and a musical standard he was satisfied with. With Daniel Binelli as his second bandoneon player, further artistic perspectives opened up with the new sextet formation. Unfortunately, the stroke he suffered in 1989 hindered him from making the most of this possibility. The fragments of an incomplete studio album are presented in the form of an album entitled „57 Minutos Con La Realidad“ and are supplemented by extracts from one of Piazzolla’s most unusual concerts. The producer Tony Staveacre convinced Piazzolla to perform at a concert in front of a TV audience for the BBC. Apart from the political implications of the appearance (in view of the Falklands war), the sextet was faced with a new challenge in the environment of a TV studio: the musicians played in a circle facing each other with their backs to the audience. The result was an incredibly intense concert which moved all those who participated, including Piazzolla himself, making the unusual comment, “I think musicians can sometimes achieve something that diplomats will always fail at.” The complete BBC-concert was also released on CD.