Piazzolla: Four Seasons of Buenos Aires

Introduction

The Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas, also known as the Estaciones Porteñas or The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, are a set of four tango compositions written by Ástor Piazzolla, which were originally conceived and treated as different compositions rather than one suite, although Piazzolla performed them together from time to time. The pieces were scored for his quintet of violin (viola), piano, electric guitar, double bass and bandoneón. By giving the adjective porteño, referring to those born in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital city, Piazzolla gives an impression of the four seasons in Buenos Aires.

The Seasons

1. Verano Porteño (Buenos Aires Summer)
   written in 1965^[1], originally as incidental music for the play 'Melenita de Oro' by Alberto Rodríguez Muñoz.^[2]
2. Invierno Porteño (Buenos Aires Winter)
   written in 1969.
3. Primavera Porteña (Buenos Aires Spring)
   written in 1970, contains counterpoint.
4. Otoño Porteño (Buenos Aires Autumn)
   written in 1970.

In 1996-1998, the Russian composer Leonid Desyatnikov made a new arrangement of the above four pieces with more obvious link between Vivaldi and Piazzolla, by converting each of pieces into three-section pieces, and re-arranging for solo violin and string orchestra. In each piece he included several quotations from original Vivaldi's work but due to seasons being inverted between northern and southern hemispheres, thus, for example, Verano Porteño had added elements of L'inverno (Winter) of Vivaldi.