Exploring Piazzolla’s sound effects by violinist Tomás Cotik

Ahead of his third Piazzolla Naxos album to be released on 26 April, Argentinean violinist Tomás Cotik speaks about his compatriot’s sound and percussive effects. 

This third installement of Cotik’s documentary navigates through the complexities of Piazzolla’s idiomatic writing. Cotik explains Piazzolla’s incorporation of Tango effects, known as ’yeites,’ and percussive techniques that were already present in the old traditional Tango. From the gritty textures of ‘Lija’ strokes to the rhythmic pulse of ’Tambor,’ the percussive ’Golpe de Caja,’ the swift ‘Latigo’ and the evocative ‘Sirena’ slides, Cotik unravels the intricacies behind Piazzolla’s sound effects and then plays them in context illustrates with music examples from his Naxos albums Buenos Aires (2024), Legacy (2017) and Tango Nuevo (2013). 

Tomás Cotik currently resides in Madrid, Spain, holding a nine-month-long Fulbright research award during his sabbatical year as a violin professor at Portland State University in Oregon. His recording of Piazzolla ‘Buenos Aires’ is out on 26 April 2024 on Naxos.

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