The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night (Tango Apasionado)
{{Infobox album
| name = The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night (Tango Apasionado)
| type = studio
| artist = Astor Piazzolla
| cover = The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night (Tango Apasionado).jpg
| alt =
| released = 1988
| recorded = 1987
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Tango
| length =
| label = American Clavé{{Cite magazine|url=https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/astor-piazzolla-the-american-clave-recordings-nonesuch/|title=Astor Piazzolla: The American Clavé Recordings|first=A. D.|last=Amorosi|magazine=JazzTimes}}
| producer = Kip Hanrahan, Astor Piazzolla
| prev_title = Tango: Zero Hour
| prev_year = 1986
| next_title = La Camorra: La Soledad de la Provacación Apasionada (The Solitude of Passionate Provocation)
| next_year = 1989
}}
{{italic title|all=yes|noerror}}
The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night (Tango Apasionado) is an album by the Argentinian musician Astor Piazzolla.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/astor-piazzolla-mn0000607967/biography|title=Astor Piazzolla Biography, Songs, & Albums|website=AllMusic}} It was released in 1988. The album was reissued by Nonesuch Records in the late 1990s.{{cite magazine |last1=Bambarger |first1=Bradley |title=Piazzolla live captured on Milan series |magazine=Billboard |date=Dec 6, 1997 |volume=109 |issue=49 |pages=15–16}}
Production
Recorded in New York City in 1987, the album was produced by Kip Hanrahan and Piazzolla.{{cite magazine |last1=Paoletta |first1=Michael |title=Vital reissues: The Rough Dancer And The Cyclical Night (Tango Apasionado) |magazine=Billboard |date=Apr 22, 2000 |volume=112 |issue=17 |page=23}} Its music was originally developed as a theater performance about the history of the tango.{{Cite web|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Astor+Piazzolla|title=Astor Piazzolla|website=Robert Christgau}} Piazzolla, who played the bandoneon, recorded the album with his Quinteto Tango Nuevo.{{cite news |last1=Bacon |first1=Peter |title=Astor Piazzolla The Rough Dancer And The Cyclical Night, and La Camorra |work=Birmingham Post |date=3 June 2000 |department=News |page=7}}{{cite magazine |last1=Morris |first1=Chris |title=Accordion reissues market expanding |magazine=Billboard |date=Aug 3, 1996 |volume=108 |issue=31 |page=1}} Paquito D'Rivera played saxophone on Rough Dancer.{{cite news |last1=Levesque |first1=Roger |title=Tango |work=Edmonton Journal |date=2 Jan 1994 |page=E6}} Pablo Ziegler and Pablo Zinger played piano; Zinger had acted as the musical director for the stage production.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Zinger |first1=Pablo |title=It Took One to Tango: Piazzolla |work=The New York Times |date=7 Dec 1997 |page=2.36}} Horacio Malvicino played guitar.{{cite magazine |last1=Holley Jr. |first1=Eugene |title=A Tanguero of nightclubs, concert halls |magazine=Hispanic |date=Apr 2000 |volume=13 |issue=4 |page=76}} Piazzolla wrote in the liner notes of his desire to have the music sound as if it were played by "'half-drunk musicians in a bordello.'"
Critical reception
{{album ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-rough-dancer-and-the-cyclical-night-tango-apasionado-mw0000201799|title=Astor Piazzolla The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night (Tango Apasionado)|website=AllMusic}}
|rev2 = Robert Christgau
|rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev3score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=6 |page=532}}
|rev4 = Knoxville News Sentinel
|rev5 = Los Angeles Daily News
|rev5score = {{rating|4|4}}{{cite news |last1=Shuster |first1=Fred |title=Astor Piazzolla/'The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night (Tango Apasionado)' |work=Los Angeles Daily News |date=31 Mar 2000 |page=L26}}
|rev6 = MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide
|rev6score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite book |title=MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide |date=2000 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |page=610}}
}}
Robert Christgau noted that Piazzolla is "closer to Bartok the composer than to Ellington the orchestrator, and tends to limit improvisatory space." The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that the music "retains—and embellishes—the not-quite-smoldering sensuality characteristic of traditional tango."{{cite news |last1=Moon |first1=Tom |title=In New Era, It Takes a Quintet to Tango |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=17 July 1988 |page=I1}}
AllMusic wrote that, "unlike Zero Hour ... Rough Dancer has more of whimsical feel, with the often perilous shifts in tempo and mood of the earlier record being handled in smoother fashion here." Reviewing a reissue package, the Austin American-Statesman's Don McLeese opined that, "in a manner beyond form or category, this is some of the most sublimely mesmerizing music I've ever experienced."{{cite news |last1=McLeese |first1=Don |title=Astor Piazzolla The Late Masterpieces |work=Austin American-Statesman |date=2 Dec 1993 |department=Onward |page=5}} The Los Angeles Daily News deemed it "a quiet gem" and "romantic, melodic and lush." The Plain Dealer concluded that it "vividly documents the composer's deep roots in the traditional dance form and the edgy innovations of his nuevo tango."{{cite news |last1=Salisbury |first1=Wilma |title=World |work=The Plain Dealer |date=April 30, 2000 |department=Arts & Entertainment |page=61}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing =
| title1 = Prologue (Tango Apasionado)
| length1 =
| title2 = Milonga for Three
| length2 =
| title3 = Street Tango
| length3 =
| title4 = Milonga Picaresque
| length4 =
| title5 = Knife Fight
| length5 =
| title6 = Leonora's Song
| length6 =
| title7 = Prelude to the Cyclical Night (Part One)
| length7 =
| title8 = Butcher's Death
| length8 =
| title9 = Leijia's Game
| length9 =
| title10 = Milonga for Three (Reprise)
| length10 =
| title11 = Bailongo
| length11 =
| title12 = Leonora's Love Theme
| length12 =
| title13 = Finale (Tango Apasionado)
| length13 =
| title14 = Prelude to the Cyclical Night (Part Two)
| length14 =
}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Astor Piazzolla}}
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