pdf Tangos for Orchestra - Vol. 1

THE TANGOS OF W. A. YOUNG - This volume contains 8 orchestra pieces (not requiring the bandoneon) including four habaneras, three tangos, and a milonga in 236 pages. "Romance de Tango" in this volume is a Parisian style tango, while his "Solstice Tango - Hommage a Gardel" is obviously more Argentinian, requiring the sustained exaggerated ritards that make up the romantic lilt of that type. Young has written some 30 tangos in all from among his 210 works to date. Most do not require the bandoneon because of the difficulty American symphony orchestras encounter trying to find players - but some of his scores have alternate versions that include the bandoneon.

W. A.Young's family is related to Otto Harbach, the Broadway lyricist who wrote "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and who was the most prolific playwright for Broadway in the 1920'3 and 30's

Young studied musical composition at five music schools (including the Juilliard School in New York and the Aspen Music Festival and School) with a number of prominent composers. In New York, through personal contact, he received advice on opera from Samuel Barber, and he received insight on how Hindemith taught musical composition from Moisha Havivi, who was a student of Hindemith in Germany. Soon after Young studied with Charles Jones, who was a friend of Milhaud and Stravinsky, and Young was most influenced by them.

Young's music can be described as neo-tonal, melodic, and modal neoclassical.

His first tango, in the New York style and influenced by Xavier Cugat, was written for his 6th ballet created with Erik Hyrst, called "Tango". After his ballet and opera work Young encountered the Argentinian tangos of the old guard, and after a period of attending milongas he began to write tangos along Argentinian and French lines, and later included more Cugat style tangos in his output.

Young may be the first composer to write a symphonic "Tanda" of tangos - three tangos linked together by a short "cortina". This is a grouping frequently used at Argentinian tango dance evenings (called milongas, even though the same name refers to a specific dance form). In Young's conception of the tanda, the "cortina" is a ritornello related in musical material to the tangos themselves - and the tangos are also related, creating an integrated whole.

W. A. Young believes there is a similarity between the form of a tanda with cortinas and the form of the great Strauss waltzes, which consist of many waltz variations linked by an introduction serving as a ritornello. This publisher is preparing a new volume of Young's tangos that will include his tandas.

From 1985-1992, Young was Composer-in-Residence for the State Ballet of Oregon, under the Artistic Direction of Eric Hyrst, of the Royal Ballet of England. This was an eight year partnership in which Hyrst and Young created 10 ballets in 12 separate pro- ductions. They became the most prolific composer-choreographer team in the United States before the Martins-Torke collaboration at New York City Ballet (see the Inter- national Who's Who in Music, 1993-94 )