It says much about Tomás Cotik's playing on this Piazzolla homage that it pretty much matches the phenomenal playing of Fernando Suárez Paz, the Nuevo tango master's last violinist—no small accomplishment. But if anyone is capable of doing so, it's the Argentinean-born Cotik, who's lived and breathed Piazzolla's music for the better part of his life. There's no question Cotik possesses the technical facility to play these pieces, but to do justice to Piazzolla more must be done than simply play the notes on the page; what's critical is to capture the feeling of his music, and on that count Cotik excels. The expansive emotional terrain embodied by Piazzolla's compositions, from romantic tenderness and longing to violent passion, are rendered rapturously by Cotik, and it's this that argues most vehemently on behalf of Legacy. His virtuosity and singing tone are displayed to glorious effect throughout the hour-long recording, whether it be the high-energy syncopations of “Escualo” (Shark) or the romantic languor of “Vardarito,” the former titled in tribute to Paz and the latter after violinist Elvino Vardaro, a member of Piazzolla's Octet and his first Quintet during the late ‘50s. Among the standouts is the beautiful “Milonga del ángel,” surely one of Piazzolla's most adored compositions. Lin's value is perhaps most apparent here, specifically in the way he replicates the original arrangement's bandoneon part while Cotik delivers the lyrical lead with heartfelt conviction; lovely too is “Introducción al ángel,” which the duo and Kipperman render in stately manner. One imagines the Nuevo tango master would be as captivated as any listener by such exquisite performances. READ MORE