Salvation for the Polish tango

Władysław Szpilman, Jerzy Petersburski, Zygmunt Karasiński and Henryk Wars composed the Polish tangos to be performed by violin maestro Krzysztof Jakowicz and the Tangata Quintet on November 25 and 26 in Warsaw's Studio Buffo Theater.

The show was inspired by the work of Astor Piazzolla and takes its main concepts from his Tango Nuevo. The show premiered at the music festival in Łańcut back in 2004. Its enduring popularity has been attributed to its sophistication, range of emotions, original harmonies and rhythm.

"Jakowicz captured my heart - wonderful, old tangos, beautifully performed by an eminent violinist who is always in good form. One needs to be a classical music maestro in order to perform tangos like this. Most violinists who perform classical music wouldn't play like that, because they aren't able to. To say that Jakowicz and Tangata perform tangos is not enough. They are the saviors of the Polish tango," enthused a reviewer after the premiere.

The Tangata Quintet consists of young musicians, who are winners of the most prestigious musical competitions and festivals at home and abroad. They found common ground with the music of Astor Piazzolla, who linked traditional tango with elements of modern music and jazz. Piazzolla's innovations are at the core of their performances and they aim to create a complete artistic form on the basis of the tango, linking dance with song.