SESSION REPORT

Violinist Karen Gomyo’s new album, dedicated to Astor Piazzolla and recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic, was a profound and personal project for all involved, writes Rita Fernandes

Tango isn’t what comes to mind when picturing the gang-ridden New York City of the 1920s. It was, however, the city that nuevo tango composer Astor Piazzolla called home for most of his childhood. ‘It has a fighting spirit,’

Japanese–Canadian violinist Karen Gomyo explains, referring to both the city and Piazzolla’s music. Both have a special place in the violinist’s heart. She began her studies at the Juilliard School aged eleven and became deeply attached to the city. As for Piazzolla’s music, Gomyo recounts, ‘It was when I was 14 that my mother came home with a stack of Piazzolla CDs and said, “You have to listen to these!” My mother was not a musician, so for her to come home and say this was memorable.’

The album’s original plan had included Pablo Ziegler – once Piazzolla’s pianist – and bandoneon player Héctor del Curto, both of whom Gomyo had already worked with extensively. With Covid-19 rendering the necessary travel impossible, a new plan was drafted: join forces with string players from the French Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire for an orchestral arrangement by Gidon Kremer of Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. The rest of the programme grew organically from there. ‘I drove down to France from Germany with a friend for the recording in June 2020. It was on that journey that I discovered Stephanie Jones through some of her recordings on YouTube’ –