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PhD defense Barbara Varassi Pega

Geplaatst op 11 Dec 2014

Barbara Varassi PEGA Ph D Defense A
Barbara Varassi Pega defended her PhD on Thursday 11 December 2014 at Leiden University.

11 December 2014 (16u15)
Academiegebouw Leiden, Rapenburg 73, Leiden, Nederland

In this dissertation, Barbara Varassi Pega digs into the constituent elements of River Plate tango in order to decode how specific musical materials were organized and combined by four outstanding musicians: Pugliese, Salgán, Piazzolla and Beytelmann. For this purpose, I have analysed a select number of representative pieces through a study of their scores and recordings. This led to the definition of certain artistic processes and innovations within the genre, theoretical foundations for such processes, and, in all, a deeper understanding of the art of creating tango music, in addition to an overall, chronological view of its development and techniques, as well as the composition of new pieces. The articulation of this (partly) embodied knowledge has resulted in an original contribution to the field, providing new insights with which the greater artistic community can enrich their skills in arranging, composing and performing tango music.

More information


Supervising team

  • Prof. Dr. Joep Bor (1ste promotor), Universiteit Leiden
  • Prof. Frans de Ruiter (2de promotor), Universiteit Leiden
  • Prof. Dr. Edgardo Rodriguez (3de promotor), Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes
  • Gustavo Beytelmann (co-promotor), Codarts Hogeschool, Rotterdam