TANGO… The Perfect Vehicle The dialogues and sociocultural circumstances informing the emergence and evolution of tango expressions in Paris since the late 1970s. Alberto Munarriz A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN MUSIC YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO March 2015 © Alberto Munarriz, 2015 i Abstract This dissertation examines the various dialogues that have shaped the evolution of contemporary tango variants in Paris since the late 1970s. I focus primarily on the work of a number of Argentine composers who went into political exile in the late 1970s and who continue to live abroad. Drawing on the ideas of Russian linguist Mikhail Bakhtin (concepts of dialogic relationships and polyvocality), I explore the creative mechanisms that allowed these and other artists to engage with a multiplicity of seemingly irreconcilable idioms within the framing concept of tango in order to accommodate their own musical needs and inquietudes. In addition, based on fieldwork conducted in Basel, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Gerona, Paris, and Rotterdam, I examine the mechanism through which musicians (some experienced tango players with longstanding ties with the genre, others young performers who have only recently fully embraced tango) engage with these new forms in order to revisit, create or reconstruct a sense of personal or communal identity through their performances and compositions. I argue that these novel expressions are recognized as tango not because of their melodies, harmonies or rhythmic patterns, but because of the ways these features are “musicalized” by the performers. I also argue that it is due to both the musical heterogeneity that shaped early tango expressions in Argentina and the primacy of performance practices in shaping the genre’s sound that contemporary artists have been able to approach tango as a vehicle capable of accommodating the new musical identities resulting from their socially diverse and diasporic realities. ii To Alicia Sanguinetti iv Acknowledgments I owe numerous debts of gratitude: to those who have influenced me, to my teachers, to those who have supported and encouraged me through the years; unlike material ones, these debts can never be paid in full. My gratitude goes first to all the artists, musicians, composers, pedagogues, tango aficionados, and audience members from Basel, Buenos Aires, Paris, and Rotterdam who so generously shared their time, work, and life experinces with me. Without their collaboration this study could not have been possible. They include: Gustavo Beytelmann, Juan Carlos Cáceres, Thierry Caens, Osvaldo Calo, Patrice Caratini, Santos Chillemi, Santiago Cimadevilla, Claudio Constantini, Ivo De Greef, Claude Delangle, Carmela Delgado, Paulina Fain, Ramiro Gallo, Mininmo Garay, Matías Gonzáles, Tomas Gubitsch, Ville Hiltula, Louise Jallu, Gerardo Jerez Le Cam, Pablo Mainetti, Exequiel Mantega. Anthony Millet, Micha Molthoff, Virgilio Monti, Juan José Mosalini, Juanjo Mosalini, Luis Naón, Juan Pablo Navarro, Marcelo Nisinman, Alfonso Pacin, Julio Pardo, Caroline Pearsall, Julián Peralta, Carolina Poenitz, Diego Schissi, Alejandro Schwarz, Oscar Strasnoy, Cesar Stroscio, Leonardo Teruggi, Helio Torres, Bárbara Varassi Pega, Ignacio Varchausky, Leo Vervelde, Víctor Hugo Villena, Margaut Vinez, Patricio Wang, Lalo Zanelli. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my adviser, Professor Louise Wrazen, for her enduring support, her enlightening criticism, and her patient guidance throughout the many stages of this project. Michael Marcuzzi provided invaluable encouragement and numerous helpful suggestions during the initial stages of my research. Michael’s devotion to music, keen intellect, and unwavering integrity were among my strongest motivations. His memory is a continuing inspiration. I wish also to express my heartfelt thanks to Esteban Buch, Pablo Idahosa, Ramon Pelinski, and Bob Witmer for their comments, encouragement, and guidance. In the same vein, I am also indebted to Andrea Vechter for her motivation and support; without her help, this project would not have been completed. Anne Marie Gallaguer brought her insight and keen critical sense to many phases of this work. I want also to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for supporting my research. Thanks to Mathiew Cepitelli and Andrea Marsili, colleagues and much-loved friends. Our conversations contributed immensely to the development of the thought that shaped this work. Special thanks go to Mathiew Cepitelli and Arina Phouthakhanty for their warmth and hospitality. iv The love and support of friends and family has been unwavering throughout a journey that had it ups and downs; without them, I could not have made it to this point. Special thanks Dr. Patrick Boyle, my brother from a different mother, and Dr. Amalia “La Negra” Leguizamon, they kept the boat from sinking during the toughest times. Deepest thanks also to Dennis Connors and Pricilla Swalm for their incommensurable generosity. To my mother I owe the deepest gratitude for her love and support. I dedicate this project to her, the memory of my father, Alberto J. Munarriz, and my maternal grandparents, Annemarie Heinrich and Alvaro “Sol” Sanguinetti. Their passion and commitment remains an inexhaustible source of inspiration. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract........................................................................................................................................ ii Dedication................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments...................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents....................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures.............................................................................................................................. vii List of musical examples on the CD....................................................................................... xii Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 1 Objectives................................................................................................................. 2 Literature Review..................................................................................................... 5 Tango, a short historical background.................................................................... 7 Paris and beyond.................................................................................................... 23 Methodolgy............................................................................................................. 28 Chapter Overview.................................................................................................. 32 Chapter 1: El Exilio después de Gardel: Exile, Tradition, and New Paths.................................. 35 Lagrima.................................................................................................................... 35 Agents of Change.................................................................................................. 37 Exile, political and artistic freedom.................................................................... 41 Exile, emotional turmoil and Lagrima................................................................. 48 Their music after Lagrima..................................................................................... 51 Chapter 2: Why Paris? Setting the context for France’s longstanding relationship with tango.......... 55 France’s “intellectual tutelage”............................................................................. 57 Blinded by the city of lights – Porteños’ fascination with Paris...................... 59 The French Capital and its local tango scene - 1920s/1950s........................... 64 Musique pour l’amour de la musique – 1950s/1970s................................................ 70 vi Tango in the 1980s and beyond “Sorry, not the music your parents danced to…”............................................. 74 Chapter 3: A welcoming sociocultural context, a favourable institutional infrastructure, and sociopolitical sympathies.................................................................................................................... 78 Artistic liberty........................................................................................................... 80 A different kind of audience.................................................................................. 83 Infrastructure and funding..................................................................................... 87 Institutions, tango programs, and pedagogy....................................................... 93 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 95 Chapter 4: Finding your place: new sounds, new context… same tradition...................................... 97 Challenging expectations Critical responses to Tiempo Argentino and its offshoots.................................... 99 Challenging a different set of expectations Responses in their homeland..............................................................................