Astor Piazzolla and Eduardo Rovira are usually presented as the two pioneers of avant-garde tango. It has been claimed that there was a certain rivalry between them, and it is a subject of debate which of the two was the first to modernize tango. While nothing clear or definitive has emerged from this apparent controversy, it is a good starting point to understand the necessity felt by the group SONICO to create their third album, “Piazzolla-Rovira: The Edge of Tango”.

It is interesting to observe the creative positions of Rovira and Piazzolla as two independent approaches to modern tango that were built upon elements of traditional tango. More than stylistic diversity or opposition between the two composers, what is evident is a parallel and autonomous work that sought to detach itself from traditionalism.

In the 1950s, both composers became bored with the repetitive formulas of the genre, and, in order to avoid artistic frustration, they wished to take traditional tango to an extreme that pulled them away from the mass public. The cornerstone in the creation of modern tango was laid by Piazzolla in 1955 with the Octeto Buenos Aires, with which he recorded two LPs. The following year, Rovira joined the Octeto La Plata, directed by the bandoneonist Omar Rufino Luppi, in which Rovira wrote arrangements and played the bandoneon. Formed in 1956, the group was inspired by the Piazzolla octet, but did not leave behind any commercialized recordings.

Despite their parallel history in the new tango, the two bandoneonists only met on two occasions: in 1961, when Piazzolla had gone to listen to Rovira at the Faculty of Medicine and Rovira invited him on stage, where Astor briefly improvised on Los mareados; and in 1966, when they performed the same evening at Gotán a café concert directed by Juan Cedrón. However, each was perfectly aware of the activities of the other. Rovira saw an admirable colleague in Piazzolla, and always referred to him that way, and Piazzolla considered Rovira to be a valuable innovator for whom he had great respect; he spoke of him in those terms on many occasions.

"Piazzolla-Rovira: The Edge of Tango" is based on the recovery of Octeto Buenos Aires scores, which were burned by Piazzolla himself, as well as the scores of the Octeto La Plata, which were partially lost during a flood. Here, the music of both octets has been placed next to one another for the first time. With these ensembles, the two protagonists explored the boundaries (“the edge”) of tango for the first time.