
Carlos Gardel was a French-Argentine singer, songwriter and composer. Born in Toulouse, France, he was celebrated throughout Latin America and became known for his melancholy ballads and classic tango songs. Often referred to as “The King of Tango”, he created hundreds of recordings and one of his songs titled Por una Cabeza was featured in such films as Scent of a Woman [1992] and Schindler’s List [1993]. The lyrics were written by Alfredo Le Pera, and Gardel himself sang to his own piece in a film Tango Bar [1935]. “Por una Cabeza” is a gambling jargon signifying a horse winning a race narrowly and, in this case, probably also refers to the possibility of losing a beloved woman. The mood of the song is said to be “passionate and vivid”, and the composition is often praised for its contrasting use of minor and major chords.
The video below shows the piano performance by Stanislav Stanchev who plays his own arrangement. Carlos Gardel tragically died in an airplane crash in 1935. He was 44.
Great little post here. How about a song for the ages 💃🏻 right? And when it plays in those two movies, some of the best cinematic moment ever!
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I enjoyed this piece. Thank you for posting it.
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Thanks for featuring this talented composer. My partner and I used to dance tango…
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Wonderful post. I recognized the tune but didn’t know the name of the piece or the composer. Thanks.
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Such a beautiful song! I haven’t heard of this composer, but it’s always sad when such brilliant talents die far too young.
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What a great post to happen upon…. I loved this video, the music and the beautiful hands playing it. Thank you!
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