Move Records Australian classical & art music, est. 1968

The Rose and the Willow

Saxophone and piano rebuild Piazzolla, Ginastera and Guastavino from bare elements, treating improvisation as equal partner so both instruments share the musical weight.

Christina Leonard saxophone
Matt McMahon piano
Astor Piazzolla composer
Carlos Guastavino composer
Alberto Ginastera composer

Piazzolla, Ginastera and Guastavino each explore a wide range of emotional states. Beyond that expressive force, the music chosen here sits across the usual lines between jazz, folk and classical forms.

Bringing those strands together, and opening a new dimension on the composers’ own ideas, made the project both exciting and demanding.

Reviews

This is one for the jazz enthusiast who enjoys a South American flavour... saxophonist Christina Leonard and pianist Matt McMahon, set out to create new dimensions, improvising on the composers' ideas... this CD makes very interesting listening

— Margaret McNamara, 4MBS Program Guide

Artists

Photograph of Christina Leonard

Christina Leonard

Christina is committed to expanding the repertoire of music for saxophone and is highly involved in the arrangement and concert promotion of music in new frameworks.

Photograph of Matt McMahon

Matt McMahon

Matt McMahon is a Sydney-based pianist, keyboardist and composer. After studying music and English literature at Sydney University and jazz at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, he has performed and recorded actively since 1993.

Tracks

    Six Tango Etudes for Saxophone and Piano Astor Piazzolla

  1. Etude no 6 4:07
  2. Etude no 5 1:57
  3. Etude no 4 3:55
  4. Etude no 3 4:07
  5. Etude no 2 7:35
  6. Etude no 1 2:58
  7. Cita Carlos Guastavino 2:41
  8. Se equivocó la paloma Carlos Guastavino 2:17
  9. La rosa y el sauce Carlos Guastavino 4:26

    10. Cinco canciones populares argentinas Alberto Ginastera

  10. Chacarera 1:53
  11. Triste 3:26
  12. Zamba 2:00
  13. Arrorró 2:32
  14. Gato 2:32

Performers

Composers

Photograph of Carlos Guastavino

Carlos Guastavino

Carlos Guastavino wrote hundreds of songs for voice and piano that stay tonal and lushly romantic, coloured by Argentine folk music. Favourites such as La rosa y el sauce and Se equivocó la paloma still turn up in recital and in chamber transcriptions.

Photograph of Astor Piazzolla

Astor Piazzolla

Astor Piazzolla turned the tango into something sharper, more restless and chamber-like. His nuevo tango draws jazz harmony and classical counterpoint into the dance without blunting its edge.

No photograph: Alberto Ginastera

Alberto Ginastera

Alberto Ginastera’s music pulls Argentine folk and gaucho tradition into classical form: dances and songs of direct national colour give way to later scores where those roots turn abstract, fierce and rhapsodic.

Where to listen

The Rose and the Willow is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.

Product details

Catalogue number
MCD 392
List price
$25.00 AUD
Total playing time
46 minutes 26 seconds
Release date
Musical work
copyright
© 2008 Christina Leonard
Sound recording
copyright
℗ 2008 Move Records
Category
Classical
Genres
Jazz & Improvised, World & Cross-cultural
Barcode
EAN 9314574039221

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