The tango has little presence in Lithuania, home to accordionist
Martynas Levickis
. He claims that he did not come to the bandoneon music of
Astor Piazzolla
until he was well into his career, and indeed, accordionists do not play it so often, preferring to leave it to the original bandoneon (a related but distinctive instrument). Be that as it may,
Levickis
offers several fresh takes on two familiar
Piazzolla
works. First is the accordion, which has a more dominant position in the orchestral textures of the bandoneon concerto
Aconcagua
and in the intriguing arrangement of the
Cuatro Estaciones Portenas
("
Buenos Aires Four Seasons
") heard here. The second is that the arrangement, for which no one is credited (perhaps it is by
himself). It is for strings and a small chamber group, with piano but without the electric guitar of the quintet for which
composed these pieces. The piano picks up much of the guitar's material, and the pieces feature a great deal of rhythmic counterpoint between the piano and
' accordion. The arrangement lies between
and the more "classical" orchestral versions of this and other
works that are circulating, and it has quite a satisfying effect.
'
concerto, with the
Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra
under
Modestas Pitrenas
, is vigorous and strong. A novel
release even for those who may own several versions of these pieces. ~ James Manheim