JosĂŠ Serebrier Tango in Blue for String Quartet
Tango in Blue was written during the long overnight flight from New York to Montevideo, as an impromptu gift for the National Orchestra of Uruguay, OSSODRE, who had invited me to conduct their 75th anniversary concert. It didn’t have a title, and we performed it as an encore. When I asked the public for title suggestions, I was inundated with names, none of which seemed appropriate. For a while I called it Last Tango Before Sunrise, which seemed to capture the character of the piece, but it still didn’t seem quite right. My favorite title was Blue Tango, but I was reminded that there are at least two pieces with that title already. Then a friend suggested a compromise, which I liked best, and Tango in Blue was born. The first four notes are a direct quote from the final four notes of my Partita, Symphony No. 2, almost as if I was saying that there’s where I left off and I am back. Written soon after my arrival in the United States, Partita was one of the few compositions in which I used Latin American rhythms and melodic turns. After writing experimental works during the sixties and seventies, it was a challenge to go back to basics, and write a simple tune, a sort of popular piece for concert use. I had fun composing Tango in Blue, and thrilled to find it so successful. After Montevideo, the original orchestral version was played in Lima and later on in Buenos Aires, and many other cities. At my publishers’ request, I wrote several versions, for violin and piano, trio, string quartet, string orchestra, voice and piano, guitar, etc. —José Serebrier
The orchestral version was recorded on BIS-CD-1175 by the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, José Serebrier conducting.
Tango in Blue (Tango en Azul) sul pont. Violin I ff pp pizz. Violin II mf ff Viola ff mf f pizz. Violoncello
Tempo di Tango
Vln. I 5
Vln. II
Vla.
Vln. II Vla. Vcl. 13 Vln. I
Vla.
Vcl.
Vln. II
0126206
mf
f
p
mp
f
mf
tangueando
f
mf
f
poco ord.
mf
f
mf
mf
mf tangueando
Vcl. f talon 9 Vln. I arco sul pont.
f espr.
pizz.
arco
arco
p
mf
ff
José Serebrier (2001)
rubato
f
p
© Copyright 2005 by Peermusic III, Ltd. International Copyright Secured. Printed in the U.S.A. All Rights Reserved.
f
mf
pizz.
Vln. I Vln. II 18
Vla.
Vcl.
f
rubato
mp
Vla. pizz. Vcl.
Vln. II
Vln. I 28
Vln. II
Vla.
Vcl.
mf
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
arco
pizz. Vcl.
arco
32
mf dolce
mf
IV
pizz.
pizz.
mf
p
dolce
arco
arco
5
pizz. pizz. p pizz. arco tangueando arco pizz.
arco
arco rubato
mf
secco p secco p arco
23
f
Vln. I
mf
molto
p espr.
p espr.
molto cresc.
molto cresc.
6
Vln. I pp Vln. II pp ff Vla. 37
Subito meno mosso
mp molto espr.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
arco Vcl.
Vln. II
Vla.
Vcl.
mf
arco
rubato
mf dolce
pizz. pizz. p pizz. arco
mf
Vln. I
sfp
53
mf
poco a poco cresc. e accel.
Tempo primo
p
pizz.
pizz.
mf
arco
arco rubato
sempre cresc. e accel.
mf tangueando
poco a poco cresc. e accel.
sempre cresc. e accel.
secco p secco
Vln. I
poco a poco cresc. e accel.
Vln. II sempre cresc. e accel. Vla. sempre cresc. e accel. mf tangueando Vcl. 48
poco a poco cresc. e accel.
ff
Vcl. mp molto espr. 43
arco
7
58 Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vcl.
IV
mf
pizz.
mf
Vln. I
Vcl.
arco
pizz.
poco a poco cresc. e accel.
molto cresc.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vcl.
arco
molto cresc.
ff
pp
mp
molto espr.
ff
mf
Poco più lento e lontano
mf
mf
dolce
dolce
mf
mf tangueando
mp molto espr.
poco a poco cresc. e accel.
73
mf mf tangueando
poco a poco cresc. e accel.
Vcl.
molto
poco a poco cresc. e accel.
mf
p
Subito meno mosso
p espr.
arco
pizz.
p espr.
Vla.
pp
67 Vln. I
Vln. II
dolce
Vla.
mf
62
Vln. II
sffzp
dolce
accel.
f ff gliss. f ff gl iss. f gli ss.
ff
gli ss. f
ff