“What is the Tango album? Above all, it steps beyond the frames, both musical and internal. The main line that we follow is the contrast between what we know and what we are to discover.” These are words of famous violin player Vesko Eshkenazi telling about the new album of the Eshkenazi-Angelov duo. The 16 pieces, recorded on the CD follow the logics of a concert program – their selection guarantees the audience’s attention till the end. Works of Carlos Gardel, Ariel Ramirez and Julio Cesar Sanders have been included in the disc. However, Astor Piazzolla holds the greatest share (13), as he established a new era in tango. Some of the titles are unknown and show a very different Piazzolla. At the same time we play even his well-known tangos in the free tango manner, or Libertango, Eshkenazi further says.

“The album’s story is a long one. I must say that we should thank Lyudmil Angelov for the initiative and the greatest share of the selection” Vesko Eshkenazi further explains. “We are aware of this music’s endlessness and the countless works in this genre. Of course, I also participated in the process. We began our performances last year with this program. The tickets for the first concert were sold out in an instance and we had to repeat it. We thought it was great and were happy with the interest of the audience towards our tango show. So, the idea about a national tour was born quite naturally, as we wanted more people to hear this music live. In April we plan concerts in Gabrovo, Varna, Dobrich, Haskovo, followed by Burgas and Plovdiv later on.”

The Tango album will be officially released on February 13, but it was presented during the duo’s successful concerts in 2016. The musicians took part with it in the campaign for those injured in the Hitrino railroad accident – Lyudmil and Vesko attended a charity bazaar giving away their autographs and the money collected were granted to the people of Hitrino.

Lyudmil Angelov has many concerts here and abroad; he leads master classes as well. He is the founder and artistic director of two festivals – the international musical festival in Toledo, Spain and of Piano Extravaganza based in Sofia. Being a long-year concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, Vesko Eshkenazi also has solo concerts. In 2016 the world famous musicians marked two decades of collaboration. Vesko tells us more on the start:

"We had known each other, but with no joint performances. My father insisted on our meeting. Being a long-year leading clarinet player of the Sofia Philharmonic, he had decided to get us acquainted. We got along well even during the first rehearsal and before long we performed together at the initial edition of the festival, organized by Lyudmil in Toledo. I will always remember the event, it was our first joint appearance. Of course, our individual agenda outside the duo is very tight, but every time we get together, we feel like on a real island of a emotion that is very hard to explain. We get really well along together onstage and we are friends as well. Whenever I plan concerts and rehearsals with him through the year, I always see these moments as an island of magnificence, if I may say so. It is a really special thing…” Vesko Eshkenazi says in conclusion.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev