Tired of his ideas being rejected by the world of traditional tango, Astor Piazzolla decided he wanted to become a classical musician and traveled to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger in the 1950s. Although this Parisian experience didn’t turn out quite as Piazzolla expected, he successfully created an innovative modern tango project together with musicians from the Opéra de Paris; their album was called Sinfonia de Tango. However, Piazzolla was not satisfied with the project due to a lack of tango musicians who could perform as soloists alongside the orchestra, and he subsequently reframed the project, with tango soloists, in Buenos Aires. SONICO uses this “model” for our proposal: in this program, the members of SONICO perform as soloists with the support of a symphonic orchestra.
This tango orchestra program includes, for the first time together on stage, the music of the Orquesta de Cuerdas (Piazzolla) and the Agrupación de Tango Moderno (Rovira); the Agrupación de Tango Moderno was a highly influential formation formed in 1960, dedicated to tango music for listening, instead of dancing. The compositions will be adapted for a larger symphony orchestra by the composer Alejandro Schwarz. Schwarz is an experienced creator of symphonic tango programs, such as the 2008 BBC Concert Orchestra production under the direction of Charles Hazlewood which explored the world of Argentinean music in a symphonic framework. This 90-minute concert was broadcast by BBC Radio 3 in the series “Discovering Music”.
Premiere on 6th March 2026 at Cultuurcentrum Hasselt
and 7th March 2026 at Henry Le Bœuf Hall – BOZAR Brussels
Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Paolo Bortolameolli.
UPCOMING DATES
31/12/26 – Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra – Klaipeda Concert Hall (LT)
SINFONIA DE TANGO
SYMPHONIC CONCERT – 4 MUSICIANS + ORCHESTRA
TECHNICAL SHEET
AVAILABLE indoors/outdoors
LENGTH 90 Minutes
The carefully curated program offers a balanced selection of compositions by Rovira and Piazzolla, creating a new symphonic repertoire for modern tango. The progression of the program reflects a journey from intimate string orchestrations to the grandeur of a full symphonic orchestra. This allows for a dynamic range of textures and formations, showcasing the expressive power of tango across varied orchestral setups.
PART 1: STRING ORCHESTRA (ORIGINAL FORMATION)
Nostalgico (1963) by Julian Plaza, arranged by Eduardo Rovira
Contrapunteando (1963) by Eduardo Rovira
Patetico (1963) by Jorge Caldara, arranged by Eduardo Rovira
Sensiblero (1957) by Julian Plaza, arranged by Astor Piazzolla
Inspiración (1957) by Peregrino Paulos, arranged by Astor Piazzolla
Noche de Amor (1957) by Luis Rubistein, arranged by Astor Piazzolla
PART 2: MOZART ORCHESTRA
Baile de Etiqueta (1958) by Reynaldo Nichele, arranged by Eduardo Rovira
Sinfonia (1958) by Eduardo Rovira
Serial Dodecafonico (1961) by Eduardo Rovira
Tres Minutos con la Realidad (1957) by Astor Piazzolla
Melancólico Buenos Aires (1957) by Astor Piazzolla
Vanguardistas (1957) by José Bragato
PART 3: SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA
Febril (1958) by Osvaldo Manzi, arranged by Eduardo Rovira
Elegia para el Amigo Negro (1963) by Enrique Lanno, arranged by Eduardo Rovira
Lo Que Vendrá (1957) by Astor Piazzolla
Prepárense (1957) by Astor Piazzolla
CREDITS
Lysandre Donoso – Bandoneon
Stephen Meyer – Violin
Ariel Eberstein – Double bass
Ivo De Greef – Piano
Paolo Bortolameolli – Conductor
Brussels Philharmonic
Alejandro Schwarz – Arrangements
A PRODUCTION OF EL ANTITANGO MANAGEMENT
COPRODUCED BY Brussels Philharmonic and BOZAR Brussels