Astor Piazzolla

March 11, 1921 (104 years old)

Place of Birth: Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Biography

Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer, film composer, bandoneon player and arranger. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music. A virtuoso bandoneonist, he regularly performed his own compositions with a variety of ensembles. In 1992, American music critic Stephen Holden described Piazzolla as "the world's foremost composer of tango music".