Time to Let GoAlthough Piazzolla is considered a classical composer, his music is a true infusion of two distinct traditions, with improvisational elements similar to jazz. It doesn’t make sense to approach it from a purely classical perspective, ignoring the tango’s populist roots. To play tango music well, it helps to have a great classical violin technique. Yet, as I learned, you also need to let go of many of the assumptions you’ve acquired during your lifetime as a classical player. Tango music started as an accompaniment to the tango dance; it’s not all about showcasing yourself as a violinist and producing a big soloistic sound. When I first approached this music, I played it with a lot of bow and vibrato, in a very “into the string” romantic style. Which sounds fine, but it isn’t really tango. Later, I came to understand that, in this music, the violin can provide both melody and percussive background. You need to let go and fall into the groove, to let it happen instead of making it happen. And “letting go” is perhaps the hardest challenge for a classical violinist like me, who has the mind-set of “getting everything right.” The paradox is that you need to become metronomically rhythmic, but also free. The accents, which define the rhythmic outline of a piece, need to fall into place, not to be brought out with the kind of intentionality you would use in performing a standard classical concerto. You need to learn how to play “dirty,” digging into the strings, and yet do it with elegance and wit. For these reasons, tango is some of the hardest and most rewarding music I have ever played. I found that some of the best resources for learning to play tango music are on the Internet. Cohen has tango tutorials on his website, including streaming video, that help explain tango string techniques in a clear, precise way. I also found YouTube videos of the great tango players, such as Fernando Suarez Paz, who was the violinist in Piazzolla’s quintet. Studying films of Paz’s performances, along with the printed scores, I began to understand the possibilities for ornamentation and improvisation. When classical musicians play a score, they can fool around with interpretation in the sense of dynamics and phrasing. But that’s as far as it goes. Paz had done a lot with the Piazzolla scores, adding double-stops, slides, and other embellishments, which made the piece jump out and sound even better. This helped me understand how much freedom I had to make a piece my own. Watching his videos was like having a lesson with him; it totally changed my approach to the music. Last month, I had the opportunity to play Piazzolla’s “Bordel 1900,” from his suite Histoire du Tango, with pianist Christopher O’Riley at a taping of the PBS series From the Top: Live from Carnegie Hall. The piece was written for flute and guitar, but has been arranged for different instrument combinations. This was a world premiere of our particular arrangement, written by Tim Ribchester. I spent a lot of time working on my personal interpretation of the piece, anticipating the fun of performing it with Chris. I was really thrilled when From the Top brought in a special surprise guest to coach Chris and me during our rehearsal: Piazzolla’s pianist Pablo Ziegler, who was a member of the composer’s own quintet, along with Fernando Suarez Paz. What an exciting opportunity, getting so close to the source of this great music! Learning a new style is a great challenge, especially when there is no clear-cut path to follow. Even though it has been difficult to find my own way, I’m so glad I did. I think the key to being an artist is to balance an open mind with a strong sense of discipline. Learning to play tango has helped sharpen my sense of ensemble and made me an all-around better violinist. —CAELI SMITH A Jeremy Cohen duet tango etude can be found in the June/July issue of Strings magazine.
|
