On today's date in 1992, lovers of the tango had good reason to be sad. The great Argentinean composer and bandoneón virtuoso Astor Piazolla had died in Buenos Aires at the age of 71.

Now, the bandoneón is a close relation of the accordion, and for his instrument Piazolla composed original music inspired by the tango, a dance form that originated in the working-class dancehalls and bordellos of Buenos Aires. While still a teen-ager, Piazolla had played bandoneón in the orchestra of Carlos Gardél, the most famous tango singer of the 1930s. Eventually, Piazolla formed his own band, which became famous throughout South America.

But Piazzola had a burning desire to write concert music, and won a scholarship to study composition in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. She encouraged him to explore the possibilities inherent in the music he knew best, and so Piazzola set about "reinventing" the tango. The result was dubbed "nuevo tango." These "new" tangos were as vital as the old ones, but often dark and brooding.

Shortly before his death, someone asked Piazolla why his music was so melancholy. "Not because I'm sad," Piazolla replied. "Not at all. I'm a happy guy. I like to taste a good wine. I like to eat well. I like to live. No, my music is sad because the tango is sad—sad and dramatic, but not pessimistic."