[Monday Notes No. 179] Por una cabeza is a tango composed by Argentine musician Carlos Gardel for the 1935 film Tango Bar. The lyrics of the song refer to horse racing, when a horse wins ‘by a head’, i.e. with very little gap. In Italian, a similar expression is used, winning ‘di corto muso’ (with…Continue readingPor una cabeza, the adventurous life of Carlos Gardel
Tag: tango
[Monday Notes No. 178] Vuelvo al sur is a song composed by the Argentinian musician Astor Piazzolla as the soundtrack for the film Sur, directed by Fernando Ezequiel Solanas. The 1988 film is about the return home of a former prisoner, but it also contains a severe critique of the Argentinian dictatorship, which had fallen…Continue readingVuelvo al Sur, the Argentinian tango of Astor Piazzolla
[Monday Notes no. 82] Scott Joplin was the main inventor of ragtime. The composer wrote on his sheet music ‘Don’t play this piece too fast. It is never correct to play Ragtime too fast’, an instruction rarely respected by pianists. In fact, ragtime is often considered a virtuoso exercise and is played at excessive speed…Continue readingSolace Mexican Serenade, Scott Joplin recommends: don’t play too fast