Many thanks to my dear friend Libeck who managed to wrangle some free tickets to see the group Cantango Berlin (pictured above, though the guitarist wasn't there) play at the National Concert Hall last night. They are very talented. The bassist was fun; a good foot shorter than her instrument, so she kept kind of hopping up on her toes while she was playing. And I've never seen anyone play like this clarinetist. He almost fell over a few times because he was so into it.
The first half consisted of this group playing some breathtaking tangos by composers I've never heard of like Osvaldo Pugliese and Astor Piazzolla. It was amazing and energetic, although I must confess that for me, listening to polyrythmic music is kind of like listening to Italian opera; I can enjoy it to some extent but I feel like I'm not quite getting it. But I can appreciate how difficult it is to play well in polyrythm, and this was especially remarkable during the second half, when the quintet was joined by the Taipei Symphony Orchestra. Guest conductor Alejo Perez was passionate and expressive, and not bad looking, either.
For three of the pieces, the musicians were joined onstage by dancers, and my favourite was the final number, mostly because of the female dancer's dress. It was a shimmery black, with long sleeves, a high neck, and an open back. But when she moved, the hem swished with her, and you caught glimpses of a bright sapphire lining. Utterly captivating.
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