Review: Play Piazzolla – 13 Tangos for Guitar

Play Piazzolla: 13 Tangos for Easy Guitar
by Gary Ryan (arranger), Astor Piazzolla (Composer)

Paperback: 28 pages
Publisher: Boosey and Hawkes; 1 edition (Jan 1 2009)
Language: English

I found this collection of Piazzolla arrangements by chance at the local music store. I’ve played other Piazzolla works such as Cinco Piezas (1980) but as most people know Cinco Piezas can be difficult to pull off.

Now, although this collection is titled “for Easy Guitar” don’t be too fooled. These are for the intermediate player, in Canadian RCM level it would be around grade 4-7.

So what do I think? I love this book. I use it in the studio and in my gig collection. The arrangements sound great and are easy enough to sight read (this depends on your reading skills). In the studio, this is one of the most requested books by my students, especially teens. After each student recital I always have one or two students request “that song” they heard another student perform.

Gary Ryan has created a a great book for students. The works, although simplistic on some levels – number of voices played at once – sound the way most musicians hear Piazolla. This is not always accomplished by the more difficult arrangements or Piazolla’s own compositions for specifically for guitar. The more abstract aspects of the composer are not focused on here making the book more suitable for the average student or player. On occasion the endings to pieces and the simplicity of the potential virtuosic sections have forced students or myself to improvise and compose alternatives to enhance the music. The majority of students, however, will enjoy the scores just as they are.

Interested in buying Play Piazzolla: 13 Tangos for Easy Guitar?

• Amazon Canada
• Amazon US/International
• Sheet Music Plus (recommended)

From: www.garyryan.co.uk

Play Piazzolla is a unique collection of 13 tangos by the Argentinian master of tango nuevo, arranged for solo guitar. The pieces have been skilfully arranged by Gary Ryan so that this wonderfully vibrant music can be easily enjoyed by intermediate guitar players.

Works: Artisane – Ausencias – Chanson de la naissance – El viaje – Los suenos – Milonga for Three – Vuelvo al sur – Milonga – Mumuki – Ouverture (1) – Ouverture (2) – Sensuel – Tango final

Samples - Click the samples below to enlarge the image:

This Review on Classical Guitar Canada was written by Bradford Werner.