'Astor Piazzolla Meets Bach' Performance at Seoul Arts Center in August

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] A stage where you can compare and listen to the music of Astor Piazzolla, the founder of 'Nuevo Tango,' and the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Piazzolla's idol, will be presented.

The performance planning company Stomp Music announced that on August 22, a concert titled "Piazzolla Meets Bach" will be held at the IBK Chamber Hall in the Seoul Arts Center.

Bach, a Baroque-era musician, defied the outdated expressions of his time and created new methods such as the establishment of equal temperament and the completion of counterpoint. Piazzolla transformed tango music, which was originally a genre for dancing, into music for performance, creating a new genre called 'Nuevo Tango.' Bach was the only musician Piazzolla respected throughout his life. Piazzolla once said, "I loved Bach so much that I was out of my mind." In Piazzolla's tango music, Bach's counterpoint and fugue forms can be found without difficulty.

This concert will feature Korea's representative bandoneon player Go Sang-ji, who will present the music of Piazzolla and Bach. Go Sang-ji studied under Ryota Komatsu, a world-renowned Japanese bandoneon player who succeeded Piazzolla. He has continuously communicated with the public through appearances at the Seoul Jazz Festival and MBC's "Infinite Challenge." Pianist Lee Hyun-jin, violinist Yoon Jong-soo, violist Park Yong-eun, and cellist Kang Chan-wook, who have long collaborated with Go Sang-ji, will perform Bach's music representing the Baroque era and Piazzolla's 20th-century tango music together. Music critic Kim Moon-kyung will provide commentary on the musical worlds of Piazzolla and Bach, making the performance even more engaging.

In the first part of the concert, the commonalities between Piazzolla and Bach, who presented original music without following existing forms, will be examined in detail. Bach, who laid the foundation of music to the extent that it is said "Above all music in the world is Bach," and Piazzolla, who wrote a new history of tango. They will perform pieces including Piazzolla's "The Four Seasons," influenced deeply by Bach's fugue form, such as "Primavera Portena (Spring)" and "La Muerte del Angel (The Death of the Angel)," along with Bach's music.

The second part will offer a stage to experience the essence of Baroque music. Using instruments from Bach's era such as the harpsichord and Baroque violin, they will perform Bach's "Concerto for Two Violins" and "Air on the G String," among others.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.