Tango in The Black Diamond: The Sound of Buenos Aires

The Argentine musicians and composers Astor Piazzolla and – less well-known in these parts – Eduardo Rovira are often presented as two pioneers of tango music. In the 1950s, they were pioneers of their own legendary tango groups, and now the international ensemble SONICO dives into the music that laid the foundation for modern tango. The program includes both well-known and previously forgotten music.

In the 1950s, both composers became fed up with the genre's fixed formulas, and to avoid artistic frustration, they wanted to bring traditional tango to a form that removed it from the broad audience.

The cornerstone for the creation of modern tango was laid by Piazzolla in 1955 with the Octeto Buenos Aires. The following year, Rovira joined Octeto La Plata, led by bandoneon player Omar Rufino Luppi, for which Rovira wrote arrangements and played the bandoneon. Rovira saw an admirable colleague in Piazzolla and always referred to him as such, and Piazzolla considered Rovira a valuable innovator for whom he had great respect; he spoke of him in these terms on many occasions.

SONICO is a Brussels-based ensemble founded in 2015 dedicated to reviving and performing the music of Eduardo Rovira – a central but often forgotten figure in the history of avant-garde tango.

The group has distinguished itself through its meticulous archiving and transcription work, reviving lost and previously unreleased repertoire. This systematic rediscovery of modern tango classics – combined with the ensemble’s high artistic level – represents a groundbreaking effort previously unknown in the tango world.

Cast:

SORICO:
Lysandre Donoso (FR/CL) – bandoneon
Carmela Delgado (FR/ES) – bandoneon
Stephen Meyer (USA/BE) – violin
Daniel Hurtado Jimenez (ES) – violin
Bartosz Korus (PL) – viola
Guillaume Lagravière (FR/BE) – cello
Alejandro Schwarz (AR/BE) – guitar
Ariel Eberstein (AR/BE) – double bass
Ivo De Greef (BE) – piano