Serebrier - Tango in Blue

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.

   

           

  

           Vcl.      mp molto espr.

Vln. I

  



     

 

  

     



  

     

poco a poco cresc. e accel.

      

poco a poco cresc. e accel.

      

              

        

 

mf

 

     mf

     

 

 

      



 

poco a poco cresc. e accel.

     

     

                Vln. II      sempre cresc. e accel.                        Vla.   sempre cresc. e accel. mf tangueando                 Vcl.  mf tangueando

  

 

     

      

          



poco a poco cresc. e accel.

      

ff

43

 

sempre cresc. e accel.

sempre cresc. e accel.



  

 

 





  

  

   

  

  

  

   

  

  

     

  

 

 



 

 



  

 