''Libertango'' is a composition by

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 from a combination of Arge ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

bandoneon The bandoneon () or bandonion is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, it is held between the hands, and played ...

player

Astor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fr ...

, recorded and published in 1974 in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. The title is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

merging " Libertad" (Spanish for "liberty") and "tango", symbolizing Piazzolla's break from classical tango to

tango nuevo Nuevo tango (''New tango'') is both a form of music in which new elements are incorporated into traditional tango music, and an evolution of tango dance that began to develop in the 1980s. Dance Origins Prior to the 1990s, Argentine tango was t ...

Performances

recorded and published ''Libertango'' in 1974 in Milan, symbolizing his break from classical tango to

(see

below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor * Bottom (disambiguation) *Less than *Temperatures below freezing *Hell or underworld People with the surname * Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general * Fred Belo ...

for recording details). While touring, he and his band performed an extended version in 1977 for Radio Télévision Suisse Mosaique. Cellist YoYo Ma played ''Libertango'' on his 1997 album ''Soul of the Tango: The Music of Astor Piazzolla''. It was featured by guitarist

Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, his breakthrough came after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a s ...

in his 2000 album ''The Grande Passion''. In 2002 ''Libertango'' appeared on

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to Musical composition, musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience, audiences. This can be seen, for example, when a song appears on two or more of the record chart, record charts, which tr ...

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

Bond's second album, ''Shine''. It featured on the 2004 live album '' Live: Manchester and Dublin'' of the guitar duo ''Rodrigo Y Gabriela''. In 2013 ''Libertango'' appeared on award-winning album ''Surreal'' by guitar-virtuoso Roman Miroshnichenko. In 2017, it appeared on the collaborative live album by the Japanese jazz pianist Hiromi and the Colombian harpist Edmar Castaneda, recorded in Montreal.

Derivatives

Although Libertango was born as an instrumental piece, in 1990 Uruguayan poet Horacio Ferrer added lyrics in Spanish language based on the theme of freedom. According to the performance database at '' All Music Guide'', the composition has appeared on over 500 separate releases.

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

's song '' I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)'' uses the same music, as does Jazz Mandolin Project's song "Jungle Tango",

Guy Marchand Guy Marchand (22 May 1937 – 15 December 2023) was a French actor, musician, and singer. He appeared in over 100 films in over 30 years, but was best known for his role as the fictional television private detective Nestor Burma. Life and care ...

's song "Moi je suis tango" and Kati Kovács's song ''Hívlak''. In 1997 Irish folk musician

Sharon Shannon Sharon Shannon (born 8 June 1968) is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and Diatonic button accordion, melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, ''Sharon Shann ...

recorded a cover of Grace Jones' '' I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)'' for her third album, '' Each Little Thing''. Featuring session vocals by

Kirsty MacColl Kirsty Anna MacColl (, ; 10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter. The daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl, she recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop ...

it also appeared in 2001 on ''The One and Only'', a compilation album released after her death. Shannon re-released the recording as the title track of her 2005 compilation. Cuban-American singer/composer Luisa Maria Güell added lyrics in the theme of the "Libertango" title and recorded it for her 2007 album ''Una''. A more recent version in Spanish of Libertango lyrics belongs to the Argentinian singer, lyricist and composer Lilí Gardés, who describes the loneliness of city life. This version was approved by Edizione Cursi/Pagani SRL, and it was part of the show Zombitango.

Media

In the

Prince of Tennis is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from July 1999 to March 2008, with its chapters collected in 42 volumes. Viz Media licensed t ...

anime series, Atobe Keigo and Sanada Genichirou attended a performance of this song. They used it later to set the beat for their Doubles match. ''Libertango'' was the backing music in the ''

Tarot Tarot (, first known as ''trionfi (cards), trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play t ...

'' advert for

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

's S60 compact executive saloon. The music was used in the

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

movie '' Frantic'' (1988), and was one of two pieces from Piazzolla that made up the entire soundtrack of

Jacques Rivette Jacques Rivette (; 1 March 1928 – 29 January 2016) was a French film director and film critic most commonly associated with the French New Wave and the film magazine '' Cahiers du Cinéma''. He made twenty-nine films, including '' L'Amour fo ...

's film '' Le Pont du Nord'' (1981).

1974 performance

–

bandoneón The bandoneon () or bandonion is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, it is held between the hands, and playe ...

, arranger, conductor * Felice Da Viá – piano, Hammond organ C3 * Gianni Zilioli – Hammond organ C3, marimba *

Pino Presti Giuseppe Prestipino Giarritta (born 23 August 1943), professionally known by his pseudonym Pino Presti, is an Italian conductor, arranger, bassist, composer and record producer from Milan. He is a 5th-dan black belt in Shotokan Karate. Pres ...

– bass guitar * Tullio De Piscopo – drums, percussions * Filippo Daccò – acoustic and electric guitar * Andrea Poggi – timpani, percussions * String section with ** Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli – 1st violin ** Elsa Parravicini – 1st viola ** Paolo Salvi – 1st cello * Marlaena Kessick – G flute * Hugo Heredia, Gianni Bedori – C flute Recorded in May 1974 at Mondial Sound Studio, Milan (Italy). Sound engineer: Tonino Paolillo.

References

External links

Astor Piazzolla original 1974 performance (audio only)

Video of Nestor Marconi playing libertango
with

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

Libertango Music Video of Luisa Maria Güell from her album Una, 2007, lyrics by L. M. Güell
{{authority control Compositions by Ástor Piazzolla Tangos 1974 songs