I'm delighted that my latest programme curation for Echoes Festival, Anglo-Tango (originally postponed from November 2021) has now been performed, recorded and released on the Festival's on-demand channel at www.echoesfestival.co.uk.
I really enjoyed digging around in the archives, tracking down piano tangos written by British 20th-century composers, which I found in quite healthy numbers. Spanning almost a century, they range from Walton's precedent-setting 'Tango-Pasodoble' to contributions by other grandees of British composition such as Rodney Bennett, Finnissy, Nyman and Birtwistle, alongside a plethora of other pre-eminent names from the British contemporary classical canon.
Returning this gesture of cultural diplomacy and bringing some indigenous verve to the programme is the virtuoso Argentine pianist, Lilia Salsano, who eloquently performs the programme from her native province of Santa Fé.
The event can be viewed directly at:
