TANGO COMPOSER’S LEGACY LIVES ON IN COMPETITION
In the centenary year of Astor Piazzolla’s birth — and nearly three decades since his passing — a new international online music competition will celebrate the composer’s rich legacy and shine light on the enduring influence of his musical oeuvre, including such beloved works as “Libertango” and “Oblivion.”
Open to instrumentalists and ensembles alike, the inaugural Piazzolla Music Competition will provide contestants of any nationality, ages 13 and older, with the opportunity to vie for their own musical futures through performances of the composer’s work. The endeavor is presented by PARMA Recordings and Fundación Astor Piazzolla in collaboration with the composer’s widow, Laura Escalada Piazzolla, grandson Daniel Villaflor Piazzolla and friend Gary Burton, a Grammy-winning musician and the competition’s honorary president.
To enter, video recordings, featuring at least six minutes of music, must be submitted with the application fee by April 18. All proceeds will benefit the Playing for Change Foundation, a global nonprofit organization, dedicated to creating a positive impact through arts education, that currently operates 15 music programs in 11 countries.
Qualifying submissions will proceed to a rigorous adjudication, in which a panel of 12 jurors, one of whom is Houston’s Arthur Gottschalk, will use a 30-point system that takes performance, technique and interpretation into equal consideration. Headed by the former pianist of Piazzolla’s legendary quintet, Pablo Ziegler, the diverse jury will also include bandoneonists Héctor Del Curto and Daniel Binelli, tango singer Sandra Rumolino, performing arts manager Paolo Petrocelli and artist consultant Masae Shiwa, among others.
The batch of finalists — comprised of each juror’s three highestscoring contestants from the soloist and ensemble categories — will be announced May 18, and the winners will be revealed June 15.
“Most young musicians try to make their mark by putting as many competitions into their résumé as they can, but this one, I think, is a little different,” said Gottschalk, an award-winning composer and longtime professor of music composition at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. “It’s not just the usual cash prize and a couple of press releases.”
Rather, the two grand prizes, given to the champions of each category, include a monetary award, a gold medallion, an album release on PARMA’s label Navona Records and a subsequent concert tour throughout China. The latter, Gottschalk said, is not only beneficial for a young career in terms of exposure but also for “building up some chops.”
In addition to first, second and third place, there will also be four special prizes, for which all finalists will be eligible. While the winner of the Pablo Ziegler Award will receive seven days of virtual coaching sessions with the Grammy-winning pianist and composer himself, three other contestants will be selected to partake in performances with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the Grosseto Symphony Orchestra and the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra, with travel and lodging expenses covered.
In celebration of Piazzolla’s 100th anniversary, this effort to find and elevate undiscovered talent is a fitting way to pay homage to the man who revolutionized tango, as it was, in fact, a contest that proved to be one of the turning points for his own artistic career, explained Daniel Villaflor Piazzolla, vice president of Fundación Astor Piazzolla. As the victor of the 1953 Fabién Sevitzky competition, Piazzolla received a scholarship from the French government to study with the legendary Nadia Boulanger in Paris, where he embraced the opportunity to truly hone his craft. Infusing traditional tango with elements of jazz and classical music, he became the pioneer of a new genre, known as nuevo tango.
Boulanger encouraged Piazzolla to concentrate on and advance the music of his place and time — an approach that Gottschalk said resonates with him in his own work.
“I’m a big fan of Piazzolla’s methods and music, so it doesn’t bother me that this might result in more performances and the greater dissemination of his work,” Gottschalk said. “It’s a great way for a younger generation to become exposed to this great man’s great music.”