Writing this Tango Course is both an obligation and a great pleasure for me. It is an obligation because I would like to contribute something (of all the things that I owe) in return as an appreciation of having been fortunate enough to educate myself in the Orchestras, where I learned to play Tango. The Orchestras were a crucible where the ideas of its members and/or other creative musicians experimented, played, and came together to create playing styles, rhythmic forms, etc. These contributions were what took the Tango, little by little, to such a high musical level. Nowadays, it is not at all easy to belong to an Orchestra, considering the fact that so few can subsist. This makes it more difficult for those who want to have careers in Tango music to acquire the vast knowledge necessary for playing and interpreting it. Let us not forget that the Orchestras have always been the best schools for such an apprenticeship. It is also a great pleasure to be able to transmit and share that what I have learned, trying always not to leave anything out (that is my real intention) by relying on my memory which fortunately still helps me. I never intended for my conclusions to be taken as the absolute truth, nor wanted to win something over anyone, in anything. This course just shows my position, and the ideas with which I have always worked. We will deal here with the Tango in versions which, in my understanding, are genuine manifestations of itself. I love the Tango because I love good music, and I got into it to learn to play it, not to change it. If my versions and arrangements have something different about them, it is only because this is my language, and I have expressed myself through it. I will also talk about the incorporation of new contributions and changes, as long as they are authentic within the genre. The many streams of opinion may or may not coincide with what will be said in this course. Considering the broadness of the theme and the flexibility which should govern artistic creation, other concepts may prove constructive as well. I sincerely hope that this course will be useful to someone, Horacio Salgán

An innovative resource which shatters tango stereotypes to account for the genre's impact on arts, culture, and society around the world. Twenty chapters by North and South American, European, and Asian contributors, some publishing in English for the first time, collectively cover tango's history, culture, and performance practice.

Tracing Tangueros offers an inside view of Argentine tango music in the context of the growth and development of the art form's instrumental and stylistic innovations. Rather than perpetuating the glamorous worldwide conceptions that often only reflect the tango that left Argentina nearly 100 years ago, authors Kacey Link and Kristin Wendland trace tango's historical and stylistic musical trajectory in Argentina, beginning with the guardia nueva's crystallization of the genre in the 1920s, moving through tango's Golden Age (1932-1955), and culminating with the "Music of Buenos Aires" today. Through the transmission, discussion, examination, and analysis of primary sources currently unavailable outside of Argentina, including scores, manuals of style, archival audio/video recordings, and live video footage of performances and demonstrations, Link and Wendland frame and define Argentine tango music as a distinct expression possessing its own musical legacy and characteristic musical elements. Beginning by establishing a broad framework of the tango art form, the book proceeds to move through twelve in-depth profiles of representative tangueros (tango musicians) within the genre's historical and stylistic trajectory. Through this focused examination of tangueros and their music, Link and Wendland show how the dynamic Argentine tango grows from one tanguero linked to another, and how the composition techniques and performance practices of each generation are informed by that of the past.

The Art of Tango offers a systematic exploration of the performance, arrangement and composition of the universally popular tango. The author discusses traditional practices, the De Caro school and the pioneering oeuvre of four celebrated innovators: Pugliese, Salgán, Piazzolla and Beytelmann. With an in-depth focus on both reception and practice, the volume and its companion website featuring supplementary audio-visual materials analyse, decode, compare and discuss literature, scores and recordings to provide a deeper understanding of tango’s artistic concepts, characteristics and techniques. River Plate tango is explored through the lens of artistic research, combining the study of oral traditions and written sources. In addition to a detailed examination of the various approaches to tango by the musicians featured in this book, three compositions by the author embodying creative applications of the research findings are discussed. The volume offers numerous tools for developing skills in practice, inspiring new musical output and the continuation of research endeavours in the field. Illustrating the many possibilities of this musical language that has captivated musicians and audiences worldwide, this book is a valuable resource for everyone with an interest in tango, whether they be composers, performers, arrangers, teachers, music lovers or scholars in the field of popular music studies.

During the dark years of the military dictatorship, Tango had fallen into oblivion all over the world, most especially in Argentina. The “Tango Argentino” show was the show that led to the worldwide revival of interest in Tango. It debuted in Paris, then conquered Broadway and, later, the whole world. Juan Carlos Copes, Miguel Ángel Zotto, and Milena Plebs, Gloria and Rodolfo Dinzel, Gloria and Eduardo, Virulazo, and Elvira are some of the artists who participated in this legendary show and are described in great detail in this book, now known as the definitive work on Tango Argentino. Every serious tanguero should know the history of the revival of Tango and this book is for them. Tango Argentino: What a book! What a book! It enchants immediately, like the show, taking us to the beginnings of Tango, accompanying us in its history, gradually creating the irresistible desire of Tango in the reader. In the book, we come face to face with the myths of the dancers, musicians, and singers. It tells us some gossip about the fights and jealousies behind the scenes and tells us also about the creation of the costumes, now iconic in the worlds of theater and fashion. We also read that Lady Diana and the Japanese Emperor Hirohito were so enchanted by the Tango that they wanted to learn it. It is finally confirmed: only by knowing the beginning of this new era, we can better understand its current global success. Tango is a universal language!

In this generously illustrated book, world-renowned Yale art historian Robert Farris Thompson gives us the definitive account of tango, "the fabulous dance of the past hundred years–and the most beautiful, in the opinion of Martha Graham.” Thompson traces tango’s evolution in the nineteenth century under European, Andalusian-Gaucho, and African influences through its representations by Hollywood and dramatizations in dance halls throughout the world. He shows us tango not only as brilliant choreography but also as text, music, art, and philosophy of life. Passionately argued and unparalleled in its research, its synthesis, and its depth of understanding, Tango: The Art History of Love is a monumental achievement.

Writing about Troilo over a century after his birth and nearly fifty years after his death implies a certainty: the artist, who performed with him, in all but a few cases, no longer exist. That vast absence compels us to seek Troilo where he never left: the music. “Troilo: Biography of Argentina” is a music book, but also a precise and rigorous painting of a mobilized, vigorous and encompassing country where culture –and tango– were in the spotlight. It might well be read as a text that uncovers the keys of growth and decline of Argentina