ABSTRACT
Chapter 3, ‘Boedo and the De Caro School’ provides insight into the innovative work of Julio De Caro, the direct musical predecessor of the four musicians studied in the book: Pugliese, Salgán, Piazzolla and Beytelmann. Besides being one of De Caro’s most iconic tangos, Boedo constitutes a characteristic example of the combination of traditional tango composition and form with avant-garde arrangement, orchestration and performance practices. Boedo is therefore an ideal work to examine when investigating De Caro’s style, the innovations crafted with his sextet and his groundbreaking contribution to instrumental tango music, which has shaped tango music and musicians up to the present day. This chapter deals as well with the models of interpretation defined by musicians in De Caro’s sextet (Pedro Maffia, Pedro Laurenz, Luis Petrucelli, Francisco De Caro, Orlando Goñi and Aníbal Troilo, among others) through the specific use of their instruments, which was emulated from then on. Julio De Caro’s violin style also influenced the way tango might be performed, permanently expanding the possibilities of the instrument through the inclusion of expressive portamentos, arrastres, glissandos, phrasings, a particular vibrato, use of pizzicato as well as the emphatic pronounced use of the frog of the bow.
