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In recent times, Slovene
musicians have been busy proving
that they can successfully test
themselves against virtually any
style of music, traditional or
classical. For several years now,
tango has been a part of
everyday life here, and its
popularity keeps on growing.
This new, tight and well-honed
ensemble- most of whose members
have classical music training-
can undoubtedly contribute
greatly to increasing the
popularity of tango in Slovenia
still further, but they also
offer much more than just
reinterpretations of the old
Argentinian standards. Since the
name Astorpia itself alludes to
one of the most important *new
tango* artists, Astor Piazzolla
it should come as no surprise
that we find five of his
compositions on their first
album MAR DEL PLATA, among them
Libertango and Invierno Porteno,
which have already become
classics and make up part of a
cycle dedicated to the four
seasons. In addition to these
pieces, which Astorpia manage to
imbue with renewed vigour and
freshness, their repertoire
includes compositions by a
number of other artists. They
are not averse to playing
wittily with the established
rhythms of tango, not even to
placing them in a Balkan
context, in a similar way to
composer Milos Simic. In one of
their songs, the group take a
different direction entirely
with a fiery Czardas. Viva el
Tango!!! |
