Classical Music | Piano Music

Juan José Castro

Tangos  Play

Oscar Macchioni Piano

Recorded on 03/15/2005, uploaded on 01/26/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Tangos           Juan José Castro

Evocacion;  I   Llorón; II  Compadrón; III Milonguero; IV Nostálgico

Castro composed Tangos in 1941. Each tango musically depicts one of the male characters associated with the Argentine tango and the Porteño, a citizen of Buenos Aires. After the introductory "Evocación" (Evocation), which impressionistically evokes the famous tango La Cumparsita, Castro proceeds with a set of four tangos.  Llorón (Whiner) portrays a common character of the tango poems: a male whining and crying, complaining about love, family and politics. Compadrón (Compadre) refers to the hero or anti-hero of the neighborhoods who eventually becomes a pimp, a fighter, a robber, or a killer. In Milongero Castro employs milonga, a musical style cultivated by the gauchos that is sometimes interchangeable with the tango. It refers to the male who likes to party and dance milongas. Finally Nostálgico (Nostalgic) depicts another common tango character who is unsatisfied and always remembers better times. In this last tango, Castro also evokes a traditional tango, Nueve de Julio, and in the coda imitates the dry sound of the bandoneón playing chords.    Oscar Macchioni