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Somewhat Out Of the Ordinary

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 07/06/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Since there is precious little product information provided here for Oda Para Un Hippie, I really didn't know if I was going to get something along the lines of the Kronos Quartet or something less avant-garde when I ordered this. You may wonder why I ordered without knowing anything about it. The answer is that I am always on the lookout for new takes on Astor Piazzolla's music, and as it turns out this one is somewhat out of the ordinary.

On this CD, a group of eager young Germans calling themselves the Fortuna Quartett (that's how its spelled) along with bandoneonist Helmut Abel took on the huge project of putting together this performance of Piazzolla's music. I say huge project because Piazzolla is difficult even for the most accomplished musicians. And contrary to my expectations, it turned out quite well.

The horribly discordant violin that opens Verano Porteno had me worried at first that I had wasted my money. So as I listened through while doing some paperwork, I was resigned to possibly having purchased a stinker. But when I got the opportunity to listen undistracted, the music sounded much better. The Fortuna Quartett has done something unusual in that besides covering some of the Piazzolla pieces routinely covered by the myriad individuals/groups/orchestras covering him today, they have also unearthed and done justice to a few rarely performed and nearly forgotten lesser known compositions. Among these are the complicated Novitango, the title cut, Milonga de la Anunciacion, Coral, Kicho, and Finale. Among the stand-out pieces are Kicho, Escualo, Libertango, and Michelangelo '70.

With Oda Para Un Hippie, you get nearly an hour of mostly good and often interesting music. Reading the booklet (in English and auf Deutsch) that accompanies the disc gives you a little background on the genesis of this CD. The somewhat technical commentary on each song may help you understand the Fortuna Quartett's approach to Piazzolla. If you are serious about Piazzolla, then maybe you should hear this CD."