Milonga “Recuerdas de Mendoza”

The habanera, milonga and tango are dance forms originating in Argentina with a long history of such dance compositions. The milonga evolved from the habanera as a more spirited and bright musical style. The tango has a more sultry feel and is frequently written in minor keys. The current milonga and it’s companion Op.37 No.2 were written to understand the various possibilities of this musical dance form and inspired by the music of Astor Piazzolla to which the present composer was exposed during a piano master class.

The subtitle of this Milonga is “Recuerdas de Mendoza” meaning “Memories of Mendoza” a town in the Malbec region of Argentina on the Eastern slopes of the Andes. The Malbec vineyards are akin to those of Napa Valley, California and Malbec wines are among the most in demand recently. The Malbec area has a series of microclimates similar to California wine growing regions due to its position on the east range of the Andes Mountains.

This milonga is in 4/4 time with a series of dotted rhythms. The Milonga’s key changes to D minor in the middle or trio section before resuming the original melodies. Each 8 bar series of melodies is repeated twice throughout the piece.

The milonga is dedicated to Pablo Ranea and Alejandro Cohen-Birnbaum from Mendoza Argentina and the Malbec wine region of Argentina, The composer met both of them in a series of “pop-up” dinners they provided in California 2 years ago. They run a five star restaurant in Mendoza, Argentina, termed “Azafran.”

This Milonga was created from 20 February 2017 through 01 March 2017.