What was Piazzolla thinking? Tango etude no. 4 was composed for solo flute and it is marked Lento Meditativo which suggests that the musician play it slowly and meditatively. Flutes don't do that. Flutes are for butterflies, dancing on tiptoe and Allegro Vivace. Lento Meditativo is for cellos, bassoons and the left face of a bandoneon; or, for alto saxophone and pipe organ as demonstrated in today's featured video.
While this blog usually demands video of a live performance, I have made an exception for this performance by Isabella Stabio on alto saxophone and Luca Massaglia on organ. The video is a series of stills but the recording is live and captures the ambiance of the site, St. Peter's Italian's Church in London. It is clearly still a solo but the organ provides an unobtrusive and appropriate accompaniment which adds to the Meditativo mood of the piece. It is one of the most effective performances of the piece I have heard (and, to avoid unpleasant comments from my flute playing friends, I admit that I have also heard effective and Meditativo performances on flute).
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
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