Metropolitan Wind Symphony: Shared Commission: Gandolfi: Vientos y Tangos

Vientos y Tangos

The work was commissioned by the Frank L. Battisti 70th Birthday Commission Project; Metropolitan Wind Symphony, consortium member.

Premiere Date	May 3, 2003
Conductor at Premiere	James O'Dell, guest conductor
Location	Sorenson Center for the Arts, Babson College Wellesley Hills, MA
Duration	11:00
Difficulty Grade	5.0
Publisher	Boosey and Hawkes
Available from	Sheet Music Plus http://www.sheetmusicplus.com
Notes	Vientos y Tangos was one of four commissions by a consortium of university, service and community bands (including the Metropolitan Wind Symphony) to celebrate the 70th birthday and retirement of Frank Battisti at New England Conservatory.
Composer's Program Notes	The piece is an homage to tango. I decided to write a piece that explores several aspects of tango, from the early style to the 'nuevo' style to the current disco-laden style. Of course, I focused on the instrumental tango, but I also listened to a wealth of vocal tangos, which more accurately express the full meaning of this genre. (It's kind of like the blues.) I prepared by studying and transcribing Tangos by D'Arienzo, Pugliese, Piazzolla, and the Bajofondo Tango Club, primarily. I then set out to write a three part piece that explores each of these three styles. A brief introduction gives way to the first tango, which is an homage to D'Arienzo and the older style. An interlude/cadenza follows and leads to a nuevo style tango (somewhat Piazzolla inspired). Finally we veer into a disco-tango, which rocks the house (hopefully).