Our friends over at La Cucina Restaurant have created this special menu to go with our Saturday concert La Dolce Vita!
If you are local to Saskatoon you can call and pre-order for Saturday pickup. It’s a perfect addition to your special night in with the SSO.
Journey # 1
Chicken Cacciatore Dinner for 2 – $55
Traditional pan seared chicken breast, carrots, peppers, with chicken & tomato sauce.
Includes pasta – penne rose pesto, caesar salad and tiramisu desert.
Comes with home-made focaccia bread.
Journey # 2
Linguini Alla Pescatore Dinner for 2 – $65
Mussels, prawns, and scallops in a pomodoro sauce. Includes a salad and tiramisu dessert. Comes with home-made focaccia bread.
Add on bottle of wine $25. (Red & white Italian options available.)
Pre-order by Thursday, Feb 11, 2021
by calling 306-952-0552
Pickup time between 4-5 pm
on Saturday, February 13th.
Our live stream La Dolce Vita – Valentines from Italy features stunning footage of one of the most beautiful and fascinating places in the world.
Italy has long caught the imagination of artists, poets, musicians, lovers, and tourists. It’s a country where history meets you around every corner, and a culture as vibrant today as hundreds of years ago. You find yourself happening on a Roman road, getting Aperol Spritz at a street café, snapping pictures of the spires and duomos, and letting the gelato cool you down!
We’re busy putting together stunning visuals curate to match the passionately romantic music – but ahead of the concert you should take a chance to explore the absolute beauty of Italy!
There are lots of great places online to take a virtual tour, but Italy Guides gives you a chance to see the sites and learn about the stories in each city. How many steps are there in the Duomo in Florence? Have you seen all the fountains in Rome? Take some time and soak up Italia!
We knew we had to do something romantic for the Valentines weekend – and nothing is more romantic than a trip to Italy!
We love seeing everyone getting in to the spirit of travel with our 90th season’s musical adventures, and creating a watch party for La Dolce Vita is going to be one of the best of the year!
Care to treat your Special Someone to an evening of culinary delights? Scrambling for that perfect recipe? Well look no further – everyone at the SSO got together to come up with ideas of our favourite little pieces of Italy!
So wee’ve handpicked some traditional recipes for an Italian dine-in your Amore won’t soon forget. The best part? These recipes are easy to make.
Venetian Lasagne recipe incorporates savory Eastern spices and flavors, and is an absolute must for an Italian adventure – click for recipce
Our guest artist Spencer McKnight makes a mean pizza – in 2019 he spent the summer in Italy doing a production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni…and while there he learned a thing or two about pizza too! A Margherita Pizza to rival all others, this recipe boasts a mouth-watering combination of buffalo mozzarella and fire-roasted tomatoes – click for recipe
Tonight is a night to treat yourself and the one you love! For those who enjoy baking, we highly recommend trying some of the following pastry recipes: each with their own distinct texture and sure to top your list for favorite comfort food of 2021!
For dessert though we highly recommend Gelatto is an Italian ice cream…but so much better than ice cream! For a creamy and refreshing palette cleanser, we suggest trying gelatto – and we’re crazy lucky here in Saskatoon to have Beppi’s Gelatto. If you haven’t tried it, what are you waiting for?!?
But it wouldn’t be a trip to Italy without enjoying a refreshing drink!
Obviously, there’s so much amazing wine, and with each region of Italy there’s more wine to explore! Whether you’re looking for whites like Pinot Grigio, Soave, or Frascati, or reds like Chianti, Amarone, or Barolo, or something fun like Prosecco, Lambrusco, or Grappa – we highly recommend trying out a few!
But there’s more to enjoy than wine! Our Executive Director, Mark Turner, fell in love with sipping on Aperol Sprtiz – if you find yourself wandering from piazza to piazza, the exceptionally refreshing Aperol Spritz is a must-have. You’ll find them on the menus of Milan and Venice…we highly recommend giving it a try – click for recipe
Now, if you want to put the perfect treat to the end of your night, you’ll need a little glass of limoncello!
Capturing the golden sunshine of the lemons of Italy, ice cold Limoncello cleanses the palette and readies you to leave the cafe and head on to more site-seeing.
With all things Italian, the more is the merrier! So why not bulk up on some savory cheeses from Broadway’s Bulk Cheese Warehouse? You can find the perfect wine pairing at Ingredients and Urban Sellers, and we highly recommend supporting your local bread-maker by paying a visit to the Night Oven Bakery!
Wishing you and yours a sensational (and savory) Valentines Day to remember!
“When I’m alone, I dream on the horizon and words fail;
yes, I know there is no light
in a room where the sun is absent,
if you are not with me…”
So begins one of the most romantic Italian pop ballads of all time, and even if you don’t speak Italian… the second you hear the lush orchestration of “Con te partiro”, you know your heart is in for an emotional ride.
Written by Italian composer Francesco Sartori with lyrics penned by Lucio Quarantotto, Con te partiro was debuted by superstar Andrea Bocelli at the 1995 Sanremo Music Festival. It was recorded the very same year for inclusion on Andrea’s aptly-titled album “Bocelli”, serving as an A-side single with “Vivere”. Although the song’s original single release by Polydor Records wasn’t a commercial success in Italy, where it received a bare minimum of radio play, the rest of Europe soon became absolutely smitten with the song.
To say Con te partiro exploded in popularity is an understatement. It became an absolute phenomenon, topping the charts in France and swiftly becoming a massive hit in Switzerland. The single topped charts for six weeks straight, earning a triple gold sales award for its efforts. Within weeks, the moving nature of this ballad had inspired all of Belgium to declare Bocelli their new muse: Con te partiro became the biggest hit of all-time for the country while spending twelve weeks at No. 1.
But the song refused to let the ebb and flow of musical popularity slow down its journey across Europe and beyond. A second version of the song was released the following year with partial English lyrics. The catch? This time Bocelli would not have to deliver its powerful lyrics alone. British soprano Sarah Brightman (of Phantom of the Opera fame) was recruited to contextualize Bocelli’s Italian lyrics with English verses of her own. This added a dimension to the song’s meaning that previously could not have been realized. Nor could the original composers of this piece predict what was to come next.
The new version of Con te Partiro, re-titled as “Time to Say Goodbye”, achieved even greater success to that of its predecessor. It topped charts all across Europe. Germany couldn’t get enough of this new version, and they joined the ranks of Belgium in honoring it as the biggest-selling single in their history. Brightman and Bocelli were happy to continue to experiment with the different ways in which Quarantott’s melody could create “all the feels” in audiences worldwide. They produced an altered version of Time to Say Goodbye, made available on the CD of the same name, with Brightman singing in German and Bocelli in Italian. At present, that version alone has sold more than twelve million copies around the world, establishing it as one of the best-selling singles ever recorded.
Though Brightman would bow out at this point in the song’s development, Bocelli was determined to test whether audiences worldwide would embrace yet another version. So he recorded a full Spanish version of the song in 1997, titled “Por ti volaré” (“For You I Will Fly”). And, wouldn’t you know it, he struck gold again. Out of all three versions (four if you count the German/Italian duet rendition) this song encountered even greater popularity in Europe. Today, Con te Partiro (in the guise of Por ti volaré) is considered Bocelli’s signature song.
Con te partiro’s magic lies in its ability to move each of us in a special way, to reach across time and conjure those passionate and meaningful memories we hold for those we will always cherish. The song melts away all regrets of the heart to reveal that it is love for those who matter to you which matters most in the end.
Ah… Naples. One of the most gorgeous cities in all of Italy, known across the world not only for its fine architecture and food… but also for its music! The song tradition of Naples and its surrounding countryside is a rich one, stretching back hundreds of years. There are three Neapolitan standards, however, which stand out from the rest, songs which will endure long after others have been forgotten: O sole mio, Mattinata, and Torna a Surriento. Journey with us as we delve into the history of these timeless classics of Italian song…
O sole mio was written in 1898, with lyrics penned by Giovanni Capurro and music by Eduardo di Capua and Alfredo Mazzucchi. Despite the immense popularity it has gained over the years by way of reinventing itself through countless alternate language renditions, it is sung most often in the original Neapolitan language most frequently.
“O sole mio” can be translated to the standard Italian “Il mio sole”, meaning “My sunshine”. Notable artists who have covered this song include Mario Lanza, Andrea Bocelli, and Enrico Caruso. But no performer has derived nearly so much commercial success from the song as did Luciano Pavarotti, who won the 1980 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for his rendition of O sole mio.
For nearly 75 years after its publication, the music of O sole mio was attributed to Eduardo di Capua alone. Then, in November 1972, the daughter of Alfredo Mazzucchi lodged a declaration with Italy’s Office of Literary, Artistic and Scientific Property, seeking to have her father recognised as a co-composer of 18 Neapolitan songs credited to di Capua.
According to Mazzucchi’s daughter’s testament, O sole mio was one of twenty three songs which di Capua purchased from her father. It was only through a slight process of elaboration on Mazzucchi’s original melody that di Capua was able to forge one of the most iconic Italian songs of all time. There had been written authorisation on the part of Mazzucchi, granting di Capua permission to make free use of the melodies, but thankfully in October of 2002 Judge Maria Alvau ruled in favor of Mazzucchi being O sole mio’s legitimate co-composer.
Mattinata was composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo in 1904, and maintains the honor of having been the first song ever written expressly for the Gramophone Company (today known worldwide as EMI). Dedicated to Enrico Caruso, the famed operatic vocalist who first recorded it with Leoncvallo on the piano, this piece has become a concert favourite of tenors worldwide and a staple of their Italian repertoire.
Warner Brothers published a cover of the song as performed by Emilio Pericoli in 1964, and in 1982 the Costa Rican band “Gaviota” recorded a Spanish version arranged by Carlos Guzmán Bermúdez for CBS Indica Records. The song describes “the dawn, dressed in white” and “opening the door to the sun”. It paints a portrait of flowers, of nature as being disturbed by “a mysterious trembling”, framed by the singer’s impassioned plea of “where you are not, there is no light” as they bid adieu to their beloved while bathed in the colors of sunrise.
The juxtaposition of Mattinata’s melancholic farewell speech with the hopeful imagery of sunrise is poignant and touching in a way that few other Italian art songs can match. The raw passion infused in the final lyric “Where you are, love is born” speaks of a love that we all hope to experience before we too must sail away on the white light of dawn.
Its melody composed in 1894 by the Italian musician Ernesto De Curtis, Torna a surriento is a Neapolitan song whose lyrics were written years afterward by the composer’s brother: poet and painter Giambattista De Curtis. Receiving its official copyright in 1905, Torna a surriento has grown over time to become one of the most popular songs of this traditional genre. The song’s title translates from Italian as “Turn towards Sorrento”, and has been regarded as the city’s unofficial anthem for decades
Tradition maintains that the origin of the song in its completed form can be traced to 1902, when Guglielmo Tramontano (then the mayor of Sorrento, Italy) asked his friend Giambattista De Curtis to compose a song the song for Prime Minister Giuseppe Zanardelli. The Prime Minister had been vacationing at the largest seaside hotel in Sorrento at that time, the Imperial Hotel Tramontano.
Giambattista De Curtis met with his brother Ernesto that very day, and the latter was finally met with an opportunity to flesh out the melody he had been sitting on for the better part of eight years. The combined efforts of the De Curtis brothers produced a song which celebrated Zanardelli’s stay in Sorrento, but many music historians claim that the song’s lyrics reveal an alternate thematic agenda…
In fact, Torna a surriento might not be a song meant for toasting Prime Minister Zanardelli at all. It is more likely that the song represents something of a veiled plea to Zanardelli to keep his promise to help the impoverished city of Sorrento, which at the time of the song’s composition was especially in need of a sewage system. Reflecting on the beauty of Sorrento’s surroundings, as well as the love and passion of its citizens, Giambattista may have been trying to curry favor for the municipality he belonged to. While no record exists of whether or not Zanardelli liked the song, or even if Sorrento got a new sewage system out of the deal, it is known that Torna a surriento began its life in 1894 and has inspired legions of listeners since.
All three of these Neapolitan gems prove that a song is more than what you hear or what you see on a page. It is irrefutable evidence of humanity, that someone, somewhere, has cared enough about something to commit their poetic views, emotions, and inspirations on a piece of paper… hopefully to spread joy to many people across the globe. Neapolitan music certainly accomplishes this feat with gusto, so that no matter where you are you can instantly be transported to that land of canals and fine wine every time you hear the lilting phrases of its proud musical heritage.
Not everyone dances only when they are happy. Some dance to remember, others to forget, and some purely to feel anything and everything at once. Astor Piazzolla’s “Five Tango Sensations” is a suite of works that captures this sentiment perfectly. The suite itself is split into five sections (Asleep, Loving, Anxiety, Despair, and Fear) and was originally composed for a relative of the accordion (the bandoneon) and string quartet in 1989. Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla was well known throughout the world of music for having married classical, jazz, and tango music almost flawlessly into a new genre: that of “Tango Nuevo”. The suite premiered in New York the same year it was composed and immediately recorded by its composer and the Kronos Quartet. Piazzolla himself played the bandoneon for the original recording, exhibiting his virtuosic skill on the instrument.
The five compositions on this album were written after Piazzolla experienced a bout of serious illness. The session the composer recorded with the Kronos Quartet proved to be his last studio recording:he would fall into a coma the following year and never awaken. During his life, Piazzolla revolutionized the traditional tango to imbue it with new life, and he bids farewell to a musical life well lived and loved in the most moving ways possible in the five brief musical explorations that make up the suite
In Asleep, we are introduced to a dreamy world of dancers. Some made of wind, some made of the spring pollen and blades of grass blown by this same wind. The listener is at once comforted and curious. Piazzolla’s bandoneon has a knack for this, transporting lovers of music to a world where they are free to ask as many questions as they wish… without their eagerness to find answers spoiling their ability to enjoy the moment. The word dreamy does not quite do justice to the feeling of presence which is created in this movement. “Here you are” it seems to chime “now what are you going to do about it?” The lilting melody creates musical architecture, which is mysterious, yet inviting, daring the listener to venture forth in search of meaning.
Loving creates in the listener’s mind that all-too-familiar scene from a foreign romance film. A smoky bar. A mysterious and attractive individual whose colorful trappings pull the entire room into focus. There is smoke, perhaps a streetlamp. Whether indoors or out in the elements, this movement focuses on broadening our understanding of this dreamlike tango world with yet more delicious questions. Who is the stranger? How can they be reached? And what are these feelings that make the world all around shimmer with warmth and light? When the movement finally ends, the listener is left alone with these thoughts and the refrain to ponder on…
Anxiety is a movement of spirals. The thoughts of the listener begin to spiral as the rhythms and melody take on a slightly menacing quality. We are being pulled in a direction we cannot entirely control, and the scenery goes whirling by. The composer utilizes fast changes of pace to create a disorienting effect, but it is used sparingly and always accompanies a slower contrasting section which serves as an inquiry into where this descending melody is headed… and why it is so urgent. Near the end of the movement, the listener is almost treated to the answer… musically speaking it is just on the tip of the brain of one’s tongue. And then it is gone… now there are twice the number of worries, leading the listener down an all-too-familiar path.
And so the dream fades. The listener is treated to Wake (Despertar), the movement which is by far the most painful to endure. It is the realization that the monotony of the daily struggle is upon you once more, and the dream may never return. Sharp rhythmic accents serve as a blow to one’s musical heart. A violin solo languishes in the back corner of a forgotten room, and the memory of the splendorous dream fades faster with every passing second. For any who has awoken from a tremendously exciting dream only to forget the best parts once pencil is hurriedly put to paper, this movement could very well become your anthem. Yet this segment of Piazzolla’s Tango Sensations is not entirely devoid of warmth. No longer sensual, the heat we feel is that of familiarity, surrounding a beautiful melancholy which the listener encounters in cascading musical passages throughout. Will there ever be another dream so real and full of promise? And what if the opportunity to enjoy such a dream might never come to pass?
The hobbling, stilted rhythm of Fear is exceedingly effective at alarming the listener at their own anticipations of sensations, not unlike the dread of each barefoot step placed on a floor made of ice. There is an excitement, but more predominantly is an uncertainty and disjointed feeling of running without one’s full balance throughout this movement. As the listener familiarizes themselves with the central melody, we feel a sense of dread build with the intervening of the strings. At least in the dream, the uncertainty was welcoming. Here, all seems pointless and alarming. As real life turns too unsettling to bear, the composer gives us reprieve. We have danced a dance of Life and Death, Confusion and Knowing, and now we are free to meditate on our own lives and selves without the music to guide us. Piazzolla’s masterful suite knows just where to turn, how to play with our emotions, and how to stir the memories from the deep recesses of our collective minds. Of the Kronos Quartet version of the suite, Adam Greenberg says it best: “Piazzolla plays his heart out on his trusty bandoneon, and the Kronos players accompany to perfection.” A tragic work of beauty, passion, and everything in between, you can take in the captivating colors and sounds of Astor Piazzolla’s Five Tango Sensations at our upcoming Buenos Aires concert!
One of Argentina’s most celebrated female composers, Adriana Figueroa Mañas is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist who graduated with a licentiate in music and flute from The National University of Cuyo’s School of Music in 1997. She pursued further studies at her Argentine alma mater, completing Masters courses in Latino-American music as well as several courses in jazz, improvisation, chamber music composition and orchestration.
Mañas served as flautist to several professional orchestras in Mendoza, Argentina, before establishing her own studio to offer flute, saxophone, and composition instruction. A member of the West Jazz Band and Camerata Barroca, she has also lent her incredible musical talents as a cellist to the Academic Orchestra of Mendoza.
Accepted as an associate member of the Latin Grammy Academy for her contributions as a composer, she has also served as media composer and musical producer to Film Andes. A member of the Argentinian Foundation of Women Composers, she helps to promote the music of female composers throughout Argentina so that they can receive a wider audience.
Her symphonic works have premiered throughout South America, Spain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Australia, China, Sweden and the United States. Some of the more notable orchestras who have had the honor of debuting her work include: I Solisti Veneti, The Symphonic Orchestra of Unicamp, The Arizona Southern Symphonic Orchestra, and Artura Toscanini. In addition to producing original music for animations, video games, film, and television, since 1992 Mañas has devoted herself to the formation of instrumental groups for children, and has recorded several children’s albums to date.
She received a plaque of recognition for her contribution to the art and culture of Mendoza, Argentina, in 2009. The international chamber music festival “Por los Caminos del Vino” honored her music in 2014, and she provided scoring for the documentary “La mirada del colibri” in 2016. Her 2009 composition for flute, violin, and cello, (“Misteros Urbanos”) constructs a sprawling array of exciting musical architecture in its opening bars: a city of music coming to life before your very ears! And when this city goes to bed, a captivating blanket of stars slowly flit across the night sky…
Misteros Urbanos incorporates jazz elements and constructs a musical narrative through which the listener is exposed to all sides of this remarkable painted city. It utilizes dissonance to provoke wonder, finding beauty in the strangest of shapes. The first rays of the sun break over the hill, led by passionate rumbling passages from the piano, and a new day breaks fresh and clean over the silent city. An invigorating wind is blown through the clouds by a cluster of flutes, and you can taste the romance in the air. A percussive and undulating finale is sure to leave you feeling warmed from head to toe…and utterly inspired. Don’t miss your ticket to Buenos Aires, where your Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra will bring Adriana Figueroa Mañas’ “Misteros Urbanos” to life!
Conductor Janna Sailor returns to lead her hometown orchestra for Postcards of Buenos Aires – we were able to ask her some of the questions we’ve been itching to ask!
SSO: When it comes to the rich musical heritage of Latin America, there is so much to love. What do you feel is the most rewarding aspect of performing traditional Agrentinian music?
Janna: What I love about Latin music is the humanity that always comes through… everything from heart on your sleeve emotion to the pulsating rhythms, there is something so universal about the musical language that surpasses cultural and language barriers to be relatable, captivating, and engaging. Piazzolla’s music is a very intimate look at the human experience, outlining everything from an unsettled bad dream, the introspective and longing of love, and a crushing and oppressive anxiousness that we can all relate to. On the other hand, Ginastera’s “Four Dances from Estancia” pulsate with dance rhythms and folklore that take your breath away and make your heart beat faster. Both works are rewarding and enticing in their own way, and prompt you to dig deeper into your own human experience as a performer, both emotionally and technically.
SSO: Over the past hundred years, the bandoneon has become a staple for tango ensembles worldwide. How has Piazzola’s writing for the bandoneon inspired your collaboration with Jonathan Goldman in bringing this music to life?
Janna: I have played the works of Piazzolla in many different contexts…as an orchestral musician, soloist, and even with my harp and violin duo! A wonderful thing about his music is how versatile it is, and the composer himself encouraged transcriptions and arrangements of his work by many different ensembles and instrumentations that would not have traditionally played tango music. I wanted to be sure to feature the bandoneon in this performance because it was Piazzolla’s instrument, and he had such an intimate understanding and connection with it. 2021 marks the centenary of Piazzolla’s birth, so I envisioned this program as a celebration of the music and life of the man himself. I highly recommend sourcing a video of Piazzolla himself performing on the bandoneon – I am always inspired by his intensity and commitment to his culture and art form.
SSO: Four years ago you founded the Allegra Chamber Orchestra. What was the process of creating an all-female classical orchestra like, and how has it informed your work moving forward?
Janna: The creation of Allegra happened quite by chance! I had an idea to raise funds through a benefit concert for Music Heals, a charity that establishes music therapy programs in Vancouver. I put out the call to my fellow musicians, and only female players responded. The outpouring of interest from the musicians for the concert was so overwhelming, I soon realized we had enough players for an orchestra, and that this was he beginning of a movement of “women helping women through music”. Our first concert raised enough funds to start a music therapy program at the WISH Drop in Centre for women living on the street in Vancouver, and we have continued to support the program through fundraising concerts and employing women from their transition work experience program as ushers and assistants at our past concerts over the years. Through my work with Allegra it has opened my eyes further to not only many of the imbalances within the classical music culture and programming, but in society as well. The music industry is a microcosm of our society at large, and through Allegra’s work we strive to bring awareness to the inequity not only on our stages, but to shed a light on the larger social and community issues that contribute to these inequities on a larger scale. To be able to combine my two passions – music and community change making – has been a truly rewarding and humbling experience for me, and I have grown tremendously as a person and artist because of it.
SSO: You have led orchestras all over the world, performing with the likes of Mariah Carey, The Canadian Tenors, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. What would you say to young aspiring maestras who wish to advance their careers during this time of change and uncertainty?
Janna: I certainly put in my time exploring a wide variety of styles and experiences! I think the biggest thing that I learned was to be open to taking on jobs that were outside my comfort zone and current experience, and to be willing to grow, observe and learn from each of them, no matter what genre or artist I was working with. I feel privileged to have collaborated with renowned artists from many genres, and found something to admire and replicate within my own artistic output from each of those experiences. Looking back I also realized that each job and experience lead to another in some way, even if it was for a basic reason – like the fact that I worked very hard, was prompt and pleasant to work with, etc. and the contractor would take notice and offer me bigger and better jobs and more prominent roles in the months and years that followed as a result. I tried to take any opportunity – no matter how big or small – with gratitude and know that I was working my way forward and gaining more confidence and skill as I went. No experience is ever wasted if you choose to learn and grow from it.
SSO: Astor Piazolla was adamant in his belief that “the tango was always for the ear rather than the feet”. How do you tap into the essence of tango music to deliver its vibrant nature authentically?
Janna: To me, his music is all about colour and various states of energy and evolution. However the essence of the motion is internal rather than external, and his music always has a sense of restlessness and is never fully at ease. To me, Piazzolla’s music embodies the essence and full bodied flavour of the tango so fully, you don’t even need the dancers!
Born in Buenos Aires to an Italian mother and a father of Catalan descent, Alberto Ginastera left behind a musical legacy which rightly established him as one of the most important classical composers in the Americas during the 20th century. More than any other stylistic contribution to the wide body of modern classical music, Ginastera is remembered most fondly for his success in blending aspects of European art music and indigenous Argentinian folk music so seamlessly.
As a younger man, the renowned composer studied at the Williams Conservatory in Buenos Aires, graduating in 1938 and pursuing a professorship at the Liceo Militar General San Martin soon after. He mentored a young Astor Piazzolla in 1941, and continued to teach at his post at San Martin until 1945, when he travelled to the United States.
He remained in the United States for two years, becoming a student of Aaron Copland’s at Tanglewood before returning to his native Buenos Aires. His self-proclaimed first compositional period (termed “Objective Nationalism”) would give way to more subtle abstractions of Argentine folk themes (the beginnings of his “Subjective Nationalism” period) by 1948.
The bulk of Ginastera’s musical output owes a great deal of its folk-centered inspiration to the Gauchesco tradition, which views the wandering native horseman as the penultimate symbol of Argentinian pride and cultural perseverance. The four-dance suite created for his ballet Estancia exemplifies Ginastera’s reverence for this tradition, and is fill to bursting with thematic tributes to the gorgeous diaspora that is Argentinian folk music.
Ginastera composed Estancia in 1941, having been commissioned by the American Ballet Caravan to create a work which included spoken and sung elements. The composer produced his ballet in one act and five scenes based on Argentinian country life, but conflicts within the American Ballet Caravan delayed Estancia’s debut performance until 1952. That did not stop Ginastera from publishing his four-dance suite from Estancia in 1943, which received its first public hearing at the legendary Teatro Coloacuten in Buenos Aires.
Each of the four dances offers to the listener a poignantly unique mental picture of rural Argentinia. The first dance, “Los trabajadores agrícolas” (Agricultural Workers) depicts the passionate labouring of a vibrant group of field hands. The rhythm in this movement is relentless, slowly bringing forth a pastoral melody which carries us into the second movement: “Danza del trigo” (The Wheat Dance). The lyrical interlude of this movement develops a melody which stands in stark contrast to the energetic sophistication of “Los peones de hacienda” (The Cattle Men). This third movement enjoys an unbridled splendor of dynamic contrasts leading into Malambo, the piece’s finale, made to stand out to the listener by way of its constant 6/8 rhythm and rapid usage of eighth-notes. Malambo is titled after a dance frequently utilized by Gauchos (Argentine Cowboys) for competitive purposes.
Though Alberto Ginestra left this world far too soon (passing away at only 67 in Geneva, Switzerland), his music holds a special place in the hearts of Argentinians the world over. His musical vision ensured a continued interest in the rustic traditionalism of Argentine folk music and culture, and it is this very celebration for which we salute him. You can hear the four-dance suite from Ginastera’s Estancia performed by your very own Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra in our concert: Postcards from Buenos Aires!
Leonardo Suarez Paz has big plans for the world of arts and culture, and he plans to bring each of us closer to the heartbeat of our collective humanity with Piazzolla 100. An interdisciplinary performing arts project of grandiose scale, Piazzolla will celebrate the centenary of tango’s legendary composer Astor Piazzolla in 2021 by showcasing a groundbreaking Nuevo Tango style. But what is so unique about this new style of tango? For one, Nuevo Tango draws on the common roots of Tango, Jazz and Classical Music, relying on the technical developments made possible in each of these genres by the interactions of African and European cultures in the Americas.
Young Astor Piazzolla
Astor Piazzolla was born in Argentina, but grew up in New York, and Leonardo Suarez Paz wants to honor the legacy of the revolutionary composer in the Big Apple as a testament to the complexities his musical idol and mentor brought to the genre. If not for the innovations of Piazzolla, the tango might never have been pushed to its limits to truly evolve as an art form and challenge the sociocultural constructs of Latin America as a whole.
Piazzolla at 100 is a project that thrives on its artistic and sociocultural mission: to represent the culture of Tango in all its forms of expression and to emphasize liberty as an evolving concept that was instrumental in birthing the genre of dance in the first place. The project aims to foster educational outreach through a focus on bridging the people and cultures of North and South America, while emphasizing the high quality of art which can be produced through dedicated and giving collaboration between people from all walks of life. Piazzolla at 100 strives to afford greater opportunities for different generations of artists across genres and disciplines and represents an integral effort to renew the concept of cultural unity and inclusion for the world of dance and art at large.
Piazzolla at 100’s will take place as a Festival in 2021 in New York, and the action will be spread out over multuiple venues and with a variety of programs. These include a chamber music program, a symphonic program, art exhibits, film screenings, master classes, and so much more. This Festival to top all festivals will bring together top artists from all disciplines who “form a part of Tango culture’s renewal” and will emphasize the importance of women and their role in the evolution of Nuevo Tango post-Piazzolla.
The festival’s Artsitic Director Leonardo Suarez Paz belongs to a long line of tango innovators and artistic creators. This legacy begins with Gabino Ezeiza, who mentored Leonardo’s father Fernando Suarez Paz (an artist instrumental in the co-creation of Nuevo Tango alongside Piazzolla). Learning all he could from both his father and Piazzolla, Leonardo formed part of the most distinguished tango orchestras in the world (those of Mariano Mores, Horacio Salgan, Atilio Stampone, Osvaldo Berlingieri and the shows Tangox2 and Perfumes de Tango). The Artistic Director of Piazzolla at 100 is referred to by many as a “virtuoso extraordinaire”, whose art transcends both culture and genre. We at the SSO are excited about so many musical projects that are taking wing in the New Year, but Piazzolla at 100 is definitely one we will be following with extra enthusiasm!
