REVIEW: Tango band Cuarteto Rotterdam at The Foundry
They negotiate these hazards with uncanny precision and unity of spirit, demonstrating a command of their repertoire so complete that everything they play sounds memorized.
West Stockbridge — It is all very nice when the Boston Symphony slips a little bit of perspiration-free tango into one of its Tanglewood programs. By “nice,” I mean “polite.” Because the orchestra isn’t very naughty about it. That’s OK, but if you want to experience tango in all its sweaty passion and urgency, you really need to hear it from a dedicated tango band like Cuarteto Rotterdam, whose four members turned in an electrifyng set at The Foundry on Friday, March 22, before a crowd of delighted tangophiles. The group’s lineup consists of Michael Dolak on bandoneón, Susanne Cordula Welsch on violin, Judy Ruks on piano, and Facundo Leónidas Di Pietro on double bass.
Most of us arrived at The Foundry on Friday expecting to hear at least one piece by Astor Piazzolla, the Argentine bandoneon player who revolutionized tango music to become its foremost composer. As it turns out, the musicians of Cuarteto Rotterdam are crazy about Piazzolla. They have been performing his music for over two decades, and it sounds like they could play it in their sleep. Piazzolla’s music is full of stops, starts, tempo changes, shifting dynamics, and ensemble figures that invite a band to fall apart (or at least get a little sloppy). Cuarteto Rotterdam negotiates all these hazards with uncanny precision and unity of spirit, demonstrating a command of their repertoire so complete that everything they play sounds memorized.
Astor Piazzolla’s nuevo tango music sounds like it spent the night marinating in classical music garnished with jazz. It delights in high drama and bold contrasts, frequently venturing into unexpected harmonic territory while remaining true to the spirit and rhythmic drive of early tango. Piazzolla practically eclipsed all other tango composers, redefining what tango could be without betraying its fundamental essence. In fact, it is safe to say that Astor Piazzolla, more than any other individual, brought tango to its fullest maturity and made it what it is today.
Leipzig-born Michael Dolak has been playing accordion since the age of six and studied bandoneón from 2003 to 2007 at Rotterdam Academy of World Music with Victor Hugo Villena, Leo Vervelde, Gustavo Beytelmann, and Coco Nelegatti. He works as a freelance musician and teacher in Berlin and as a soloist has performed with the Bavarian State Orchestra, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra, National Youth Ballet, Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt, hr-Bigband, Central Saxon Philharmonic Orchestra, New Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, Trier Philharmonic Orchestra, and others.
Born in Singen am Hohentwiel, Germany, Susanne Cordula Welsch started playing violin at the age of six. After founding the tango duo “Por Dos Cabezas” in the mid-90s with pianist Judith Hafer, the Argentine tango became her greatest passion. She subsequently moved to Rotterdam to study violin with Martijn van der Linden and Micha Molthoff at the Argentine Tango Department of the Rotterdam Academy for World Music. In 2004, she co-founded “Cuarteto Rotterdam” with Michael Dolak. She plays a violin built in 1996 by Haat-Hedlef Uilderks of Lübeck, Germany.
Judy Ruks has been playing piano since the age of seven. Born in Oosterbeek, the Netherlands, she studied classical piano with Frank Peters and Frank van de Laar at the “Hogeschool voor de Kunsten” in Arnhem, the Netherlands, and tango piano with Wim Warman, Gustavo Beytelmann, and Leo Vervelde at the Academy for World Music (Codarts) in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She now lives and works in Stuttgart as a tango pianist, teacher, and conductor.
Born in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, the birthplace of tango pioneer Carlos Di Sarli, Facundo Leónidas Di Pietro completed his formal double bass studies at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. He has performed with symphony orchestras, as well as various tango and chamber music ensembles, most notably the Orquesta Escuela de Tango Emilio Balcarce, conducted by maestro Víctor Lavallén. He now lives in Paris, France, studying at the Conservatoire Edgar-Varèse and participating in various tango projects, including Fuego Sur, Teixido Siccardi Di Pietro, and Guitarras de Buenos Aires.
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