Milonga Loca! by Austin Wulliman

Just a few short weeks ago, we Spektrals had the amazing experience of playing with the multi-talented Julien Labro in a set of tangos by Astor Piazzolla.  From word “go” at rehearsal, it was obvious that we were dealing with a musician with an intense and vibrant energy.  We started with the languid and yearning “Asleep” from Piazzolla’s “Five Tango Sensations”.   Julien’s opening phrase seemed to stretch on and on in an unending breath inward on the bandoneon.

After that, we tackled “Fear” from the same suite, and things got interesting.  In the final moments of the fugue-like dance, the quartet was doing a whipped release from a long note.  I was playing it loose in rehearsal…apparently far too loose, since the tip of my bow snagged the far corner of my instrument and pulled part of the top of my instrument off!  After a bit of a break to deal with that dilemma, we only had more fun playing together.  The tunes fell together naturally and we had a fantastic time in performance.

Link to this blog entry and Spektral Quartet