Phoenix Ensemble

Jan. 11, 2006

Every generation has had its share of musical innovators, rebels and those that expanded the melodic boundaries of their time. Argentinean composer Astor Piazzolla was one such dissenter in his day. As a composer Piazzolla would create an opus of more than1,000 pieces from the late 1930s until his death in 1992 that explored the music of the tango versus the dances that resulted from this style of music.
Controversial in his day and discounted by traditionalist Piazzolla’s work is celebrated worldwide by musicians and conductors. One such group paying tribute is the Ann Arbor based Phoenix Ensemble. The eight-piece company of talented musicians will present the Oblivion Project at the Crooked Tree Arts Center Ross Stoakes Theatre January 13 and 14.
The Phoenix Ensemble was established in 1998 in Ann Arbor to serve as a creative resource for local musicians. The Ensemble has two objectives. The first is to entertain proposed musical projects by area musicians that would incorporate members of the Ensemble. In addition the Ensemble’s own musicians are able to create musical projects utilizing members as well as guest musicians.

BOUNDARIES OF TANGO
The concept of the Oblivion Project (the title of one of Piazzolla’s works) came to the group from artistic director Derek Snyder.
“As an undergraduate in 1990 I attended a recital of Piazzolla’s “Le Grand Tango,” and the piece immediately captivated me,” said Snyder. “I knew nothing of Piazzolla at the time but I knew I had to play this work. That performance started a passion and over the next decade the passion continued to grow as his music and recordings became available. Since then I’ve read everything I can find about Piazzolla and have located a lot of his arrangements.”
Snyder believes that Piazzolla’s interest in expanding the boundaries of the tango, while controversial at the time has created a new appreciation for the music.
“Piazzolla was interested in writing tango music that made people listen rather than dance. He wrote music that was much more experimental in terms of orchestration and harmony then traditional tango music” said Snyder. “His music was often vehemently criticized by fans of traditional tango music. Piazzolla’s humanity and personality are present in each of his compositions resulting in deep expressions of an assortment of human emotions such as passion, suffering, humor, joy, love, intensity and spirituality happening simultaneously in virtually every composition. It is why so many including myself are drawn to his works. Piazzolla was a complex man—always playing jokes on people around him but at the same time bitter that his music wasn’t more recognized during his lifetime.”

PIAZZOLLA’S VIEW
In an interview just before his death Piazzolla commented on his body of work
“For me the tango was always meant to be for the ear not for the feet,” said Piazzolla. “I paid dearly for this in my day. Once while giving a radio interview a tango singer busted into the station and pointed a pistol at my head. Latin cab drivers that recognized me in New York wouldn’t pick me up. Tango traditionalists saw me as taking something away from them, but what they didn’t realize was that the tango as they knew it was dying.”
Piazzolla’s works are rooted in the sounds produced by the bandoneón, which looks something like a large square concertina and is often referred to as the “tango accordion.” Snyder felt that it was necessary to have a bandoneón player in their ensemble in order to have an authentic interpretation of Piazzolla’s works. But finding one would not be easy, because at the time of the Piazzolla’s death in 1992 there were not any known bandoneón players performing the composer’s works.
“A friend mentioned that a bandoneón player, Peter Soave, was appearing with the Plymouth Symphony, and I went to hear the concert,” said Snyder. “It was instantly clear that he was an incredibly dynamic musician, and we knew what a beautiful addition he would be to our Piazzolla project. We tracked Peter down, and he agreed to join the show.”

TEEN VIRTUOSO
Soave, a child prodigy of the accordion, took first place in the four major international competitions as a teenager in England, Germany, Italy, and East Germany, an unheard-of feat for a virtuoso of any instrument. As an adult he took an interest in Piazzolla’s compositions and began mastering the bandoneón. Soave said there is so much to Piazzolla that one never will truly master his works
“People think, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ve heard Piazzolla.’ No, you haven’t heard Piazzolla. ‘Oh, yeah, I’ve played Piazzolla.’ No, you haven’t played Piazzolla,” said Soave. That’s myself included. The more you dig into his music, the more you’re gonna learn.”
Soave and Snyder see one of the appeals to Piazzolla’s works is the diversity in each piece. Traditional tango composition often sounded alike; this is not the case with Piazzolla.
“We do 10 to 12 pieces and there is no confusing them,” said Snyder. “Traditional tango is often monotonous and robotic in its approach, there is a definite range with Piazzolla.”

The Phoenix Ensemble will perform the Oblivion Project on January 13 & 14 at the Crooked Tree Arts Center in Petoskey, both performances start at 8 pm and advance tickets are suggested. All seats are reserved and additional information or to purchase tickets call (231) 347-4337.
The Arts Center will also open two new exhibitions over the weekend. On Saturday January 14 from 2 to 4 pm an opening reception to introduce the 25th Annual Juried Photography Exhibit as well as the Winter Horses Photographers Exhibit, featuring work by Kim Aikens. Additional information is available at the Centers website www.crookedtree.org . 
 

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