In Strangers' Arms

I have attended live bandoneon performances of the greatest: Rodolfo Mederos, Julio Pane, Ernesto Baffa, Walter Ríos, Raúl Garello, Néstor Marconi and Gabriel “Chula” Claussi. How fortunate I feel! When I sit close to a bandoneonist, memories of a very special night come to mind. It always does. It happened during the 70s at a tiny venue in barrio Recoleta. The time? About 1:30 AM. Astor Piazzolla played an electrifying solo concert. That night I sat three feet away from this giant who broke away from molds and gave the world a new form of tango.

This month Mederos and his trio play at Torcuato Tasso, a venue dedicated to the best in tango music and singing. This venue is not pricy for tourists but few attend. It is the real thing; mostly porteños attend.

I find Mederos’ music like his personality: gentle, melodic, exquisite and unpretentious, intense at times, but without indulgence in excessive drama. Mederos’ repertoire includes several early tangos, his way of honoring early composers who laid the foundations of today’s music and “will continue to be the foundation of new tango developments.”

Mederos’ trio played, among other older and recent pieces, El Caburé (1911) by Arturo de Bassi, [Bassi is also the author of El incendio (1905), La catrera (1908)], Don Goyo by Luis Bernstein, El Gran Hotel Victoria by Feliciano Latasa, Soledad by Carlos Gardel and Alfredo Lepera, and other golden era classics.

Listen to Rodolfo Mederos in Wonderfully Tango: click here

(Copyright (c) 2013 Beatriz Dujovne)

Tags: Music