Coming October 2001 from Amadeus Press:
by Natalio Gorin
translated, annotated, and expanded by Fernando Gonzalez
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Astor Piazzolla, brilliant, iconoclastic tango musician and composer, has become a
national hero in Argentina and a cult figure for classical and jazz lovers worldwide, but
only after a lifetime of controversy and struggle. His only crime was to revitalize, if
not revolutionize, tango—to hear in the music possibilities that others
couldn’t, or wouldn’t, imagine. He dared to compose tangos that were not for
dancing, tangos of such melodic and rhythmic complexity that both worlds, classical and
popular, would ultimately claim him as their own. The outspoken, headstrong Piazzolla told his story to journalist and longtime fan Natalio Gorin in the spring of 1990 in a series of frank interviews. Less than four months later Piazzolla was silenced by a stroke, and Gorin completed the work himself, bringing out the first Spanish edition a year before Piazzolla’s death in 1992, expanding it with colleagues’ reminiscences in the second Spanish edition. The memoir quickly took its place as a key primary source on the life and loves of the composer and bandleader: those who knew Piazzolla have told Natalio Gorin that they could hear their beloved Astor in these pages. With this edition, English-speaking readers can finally hear him for themselves. Cited in the recent biography by María Susana Azzi and Simon Collier, Le Grand Tango: The Life and Music of Astor Piazzolla, this lively, frank oral history has also been translated into Italian and German. Among the firsthand observations of others who knew Piazzolla well are those of his lyricist Horacio Ferrer, his fellow musicians, and his loving colleagues. Translator Fernando Gonzalez is an Argentine native and American popular music critic who covered Piazzolla’s career in the United States. He has annotated the Amadeus edition for the widening audience that is rediscovering Astor Piazzolla. From jazz musician Gary Burton, whose recollections appear in this volume for the first time, to Yo-Yo Ma, Gidon Kremer, and other renowned musicians who perform Piazzolla’s works on their classical programs, Piazzolla’s audience continues to grow. Natalio Gorin has been a journalist for more than 30 years, working at several prominent publications in Argentina, including the daily Clarín, the largest newspaper in the country. His passion for tango and especially for Astor Piazzolla’s music led him into extensive investigations of the composer’s life and work. They met in 1971 and became personal friends until Piazzolla’s death in 1992. Gorin resides in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Translator and annotator Fernando Gonzalez is a regular contributor to The Washington Post and a columnist for Down Beat magazine. He was arts and culture writer and pop music critic for The Miami Herald and jazz and world music critic for The Boston Globe, and for many years reported on Astor Piazzolla’s career. approx. 264 pages, 49 b/w photos, 2 line drawings, 1 music example, 6 x 9", hardcover, © 2001 ISBN 1-57467-066-2 List price: $34.95 (tentative) paperback ISBN 1-57467-067-0 List price: $22.95 (tentative) Publication date: October 2001 Contact: Publicity. Available from Amadeus Press, an imprint of Timber Press, Inc., 133 S.W. Second Ave., Suite 450, Portland, Oregon 97204-3527. Telephone: (503) 227-2878, (800) 327-5680. Fax: (503) 227-3070. http://www.amadeuspress.com/ and email at publicity@amadeuspress.com CLICK HERE to see a review of the translated book published by the Buenos Aires Herald (in English)
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