Performer: Hanna Shybayeva
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Grand Piano
Catalogue: GP794
Release: 2019
Size: 1.03 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Biscardi: Incitation to Desire
02. Pender: Tango: Ms. Jackson Dances for the People
03. Nichifor: Tango for Yvar
04. Wolpe: Tango
05. Rzewski: Steptangle
06. Fennelly: Tangoblique
07. Aharonián: ¿Y Ahora?
08. Schimmel: Fromage Dangereux
09 .Nyman: A Neat Slice of Tango
10. Hill: Tango no Tango
11. Mumford: Tango-Variations
12. Johnson: Tango
13. Johnson: Tango
14. Babbitt: It Takes Twelve to Tango
15. Berkman: Thorn-Torn Lips
16. Vigeland: Tango a deux
17. Nobre: Tango
18. Piazzólla: Libertango
The American pianist Yvar Mikhashoff (1941–1993) commissioned 127 of the world’s leading composers to write tangos for him. Between 1983 and 1991 he received an eclectic, stylistically varied range of works that offer a unique body of contemporary tango music for the piano. Tango’s origin was in the waltz and mazurka but has long embraced jazz and even electronic music. In this unique collection the span is international and individual, ranging from traditional evocations to include the twelve-tone approach of Milton Babbitt, the minimalism of Tom Johnson, and the very personal voice of Michael Nyman.
In the early 1980s, American pianist Yvar Mikhashoff commissioned no fewer than 127 tangos from a broad range of composers from 30 countries. A few were lost or never completed, but Mikhashoff presented 88 tangos in a marathon 1985 concert and later issued a recording featuring 19 works. This release by pianist Hanna Shybayeva does not duplicate Mikhashoff’s recording, although there are some works in common. It’s especially valuable because Mikhashoff’s tango collection, inspired by the pianist’s earlier stint as a ballroom dancer, has never been published; it’s held in a library at the State University of New York at Buffalo. In an era when composers are trying to reestablish links between concert music and its popular surroundings, Mikhashoff’s project seems a good bet for revival, and Shybayeva’s set gives an idea of what could be gained. She navigates skillfully among the various kinds of pieces composers made of the basic tango material.
There are some well-known composers here: Milton Babbitt’s It Takes Twelve to Tango is of a piece with his 12-tone jazz piece All Set, and Michael Nyman is represented by the somewhat ironically titled A Neat Slice of Tango. But there are also some real finds. Sample Tom Johnson’s delightful Tango, where the tango rhythms push against the slight variations in the minimalist upper parts. The underappreciated Frederic Rzewski calls for the pianist to stamp her feet. Shybayeva takes a subtle approach to several humorous works, like William Schimmel’s Fromage Dangereux, but she can play a melancholy tango straight. Composers take up the rhythmic aspects of the tango, its melodic tendencies, or just its general mood, and they may juxtapose the tango with modern classical styles. The late Mikhashoff’s experiment suggests many new avenues, and Shybayeva is to be commended for rediscovering it.