Tango is a 1940 piece originally composed for piano by Russian composer
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
. It is one of Stravinsky's most recorded works for piano.
Composition
After settling in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
, Stravinsky was unable to bring the money he earned from his royalties of his works in Europe to America, due to copyright issues and ambiguities. When he found himself with financial difficulties, he decided to write new compositions entirely in America in order to exploit them, with the exclusive intention of making money. Tango, which was the first work entirely written in America, is one of those works.
Analysis
One of the most rhythmically regular works by Stravinsky, the Tango consists of
bars in four-bar phrase structures.
However, this Tango does not follow the rhythmic logic used in Argentinian
Tango
Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...
s: syncopation is almost never used on the last beat of every bar, but it is used on the second instead. This provides the work with a distinctive atmosphere. Unlike some of Stravinsky's post-European works, the Tango is a tonal work. It is in the key of
D minor
D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major.
The D natural minor scale is:
Changes needed for t ...
, and modulates to
D major
D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor.
The D major scale is:
:
Ch ...
in the central
trio-like section.
Arrangements
Stravinsky's Tango has been rewritten and rearranged many times either by Stravinsky himself, by fellow musicians or by other musicians, especially after his death. Here is a list of arrangements in which Stravinsky took part:
* The first arrangement was a 1941
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
version for three flutes, three clarinets, two oboes, two bassoons, three saxophones, two horns, three trumpets, three trombones, one tuba, percussion, piano, guitar, violins, violas, cellos and double basses. Even though it was purportedly written by
Felix Guenther, it was eventually revised and approved by Stravinsky. It was premiered by
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing".
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...
in July 1941.
* The second arrangement was composed in 1953 for a very atypical ensemble: four clarinets, one bass clarinet, four trumpets, three trombones, one guitar, three violins, one viola, one cello, and one double bass. It was premiered on October 18, 1953, by fellow musician
Robert Craft
Robert Lawson Craft (October 20, 1923 – November 10, 2015) was an American conductor and writer. He is best known for his intimate professional relationship with Igor Stravinsky, on which Craft drew in producing numerous recordings and books.
...
.
* The third arrangement was written for violin and piano by American violinist
Samuel Dushkin
Samuel Dushkin (December 13, 1891 – June 24, 1976) was an American violinist, composer, and pedagogue of Polish birth and Jewish origin.
Dushkin was born in Suwałki, Poland. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, as well as with Leopold ...
, as Stravinsky and Dushkin started performing at recitals together quite often after Stravinsky fled from Europe.
See also
*
Tango (Balanchine)
''Tango'' is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to Stravinsky's Tango (1940) arranged 1953 by the composer. The premiere took place June 10, 1982, as part of City Ballet's Stravinsky Cen ...
*
Tango (Martins)
References
{{Authority control
Compositions by Igor Stravinsky
Compositions for solo piano
1940 compositions
1953 compositions