Piazzolla: Adiós Nonino for Db and String Orchestra (Perez)

About the Composition

"Adiós Nonino" was composed in 1959 following the death of Piazzolla’s father, Vicente "Nonino," while the composer was touring Puerto Rico with his ensemble. He reworked a piece he had previously composed in Paris, retaining the lyrical section while adding the mournful melody that serves as the second part of the structure. According to Uruguayan guitarist Abel Carlevaro—a student of Andrés Segovia who, like his brother Agustín, has championed Piazzolla’s music for the guitar—the original melody featured descending intervals; the composer altered this when rearranging the piece, thereby changing the character of the opening melody.

About the Arrangement

This arrangement is for solo double bass (suitable for both standard and solo tunings) and string orchestra. It is set in A minor—not the original key, but one that places the instrument in an excellent register for balancing the soloist with the string section. I have included dynamic and articulation markings designed to enhance the overall listening experience, and I hope this piece appeals to intermediate-to-advanced bassists, offering both technical and interpretive challenges.

A full score, string orchestra parts, orchestra, and solo tuning, as well as solo double bass parts, are included in your purchase. 

About the Arranger

Luis Guillermo Pérez was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, in 1954. He graduated as a classical guitarist from the “Vicente Emilio Sojo” Conservatory in 1980 and began his double bass studies with Volmar Laubach in 1978, and later with Joel Novoa at the “Simón Bolívar” Conservatory in Caracas, in 1984.

He has been Principal Bass with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Lara, from 1989 until the present day, and has participated as a guest double bassist with the Orquesta Simón Bolivar in their tour in France “Festival Radio France” in 1986. He was the Assistant Principal Bass with the Orquesta de los X Juegos Panamericanos (Indianapolis, 1987), in the 50th anniversary of the Orquesta Sinfónica (1992), with the Bach Academy from Stuttgart conducted by Helmuth Rilling (1994), and in the premiere of the piece “A flowering tree” by John Adams in Vienna (2006).

Luis has worked as professor of double bass in Venezuela and in other Latin American countries, and now teaches at the Universidad Centro Occidental Lisandro Alvarado UCLA and in the “Vicente Emilio Sojo” Conservatory.