The name Carlos Gardel is still inextricably linked with tango music even today. It was not just because of his numerous compositions but also because of his charismatic voice and acting talents that Gardel as artist and performer of his own works became one of the most important musical personalities of the first half of the 20th century revered as a legend far beyond his adopted home of Argentina. Composer and Pianist Diego Marcelo Collatti was born in 1976 in Rosario Argentina and has his first Piano lesson at the age of seven. From 1992-1998 he studied composition at the Universidad Nacional De Rosario as well as in Buenos Aires. Since 2000 DiegoCollatti has lived in Austria where he studied composition with Professor Detlev Muller-Siemens at the University Of Music And Performing Arts in Vienna. In summer 2001 he founded the ensemble 'Minimum Tango' with which he made his radio debut the following October in a programme featuring his own arrangement of Adios Nonino by Astor Piazzolla. This was also released on CD as part of the compilation 'Lange Nacht Der Musik 2002'. Subsequently in spring 2003 his ensemble album 'World Music Argentina' was published by Universal Edition Vienna. A concert given by 'Minimal Tango' in October 2003 has since then been broadcast numerous times on the radio. Since 2003 Diego Collatti has given regular concerts at home and abroad and in 2007 a CD of his own compositions appeared 'Mitologia Urbana'. This book contains a collection of arrangements done by Diego of classic Carlos Gardel pieces arranged specially for the Violin.

A selection of tangos for violin and pianoEasy yet effective performance piecesGeorge A. Speckert has arranged wonderful tangos from Argentina for violin and piano accompaniment. Classics such as El choclo jewels by Eduardo Arolas and Rosendo Mendizabal as well as less well-known pieces such as El d a que me quieras by Carlos Gardel are included. The pieces are simple but a joy to play for the violinist succinct and authentic in style for the pianist. The arranger George Speckert is also renowned for his easy yet sonorous arrangements for mixed string groups. He is a composer author and lecturer in multimedia production and E-learning.

The publication of Tango Violin Duets was met with such an enthusiastic response that it prompted the release of these arrangements for violin and piano. The timbre of the violin is exceptionally well suited to evoking in sound the musical riches of Argentina's past as well as to making the fascination and glamour of Gardel's tango music come alive again. Some of his most well-known pieces are featured in this volume and Diego Collatti's arrangements retain all the captivating magnetic charms we associate with the Tango. Suitable for violinists of middle-grade standard and beyond.