Tango Masters: Francisco Canaro

Volume 5 of the Tango Masters series

By Michael Lavocah

About this tango music book

Francisco Canaro (1888-1964) was one of tango’s true pioneers. A generation older than the ‘Big Four’, he actually lived through the wild early days that tango remembers with such nostalgia. Born into grinding poverty, he fought his way to the very top with an unequalled work ethic and an unerring sense of what audiences would love, until ambition brought him close to ruin.

Tango Masters: Francisco Canaro follows his life and the enormous body of work he left behind, some 3,800 recorded tracks, from tangos to milongas and valses that still fill dance floors today. It pays special attention to his relationship with the singer Ada Falcón, which coincided with his finest decade as a musician.

What you will find inside

• Introductions to the key musicians of the orchestra, so you can hear them within the music
• Listening guides to the most important dance recordings
• The story of the bandleader set against Argentina’s social and cultural history
• Discographies and notes that help DJs choose and dancers understand the music
• Research by Michael Lavocah, author of Tango Stories: Musical Secrets

Who is this book for?

Tango dancers who want to understand and feel the music they dance to, tango DJs building tandas, and anyone who loves the Golden Age orchestras. It reads well alongside your own listening, one recording at a time.

Why we recommend it

Canaro recorded more music than almost anyone in tango, which can make his catalogue overwhelming. This book is a trustworthy map. Lavocah follows the rise of a poor boy who became a tango tycoon, and he shows which periods of the orchestra are best for dancing, from joyful milongas to elegant valses. The story of Canaro and Ada Falcón reads almost like a novel, and it gives emotional context to some of the most beautiful recordings of the 1930s. We recommend it to dancers who love vals and milonga, to DJs looking beyond the most famous tracks, and to readers who enjoy tango history told as a human story.

Published in 2021 by milonga press. 328 pages, ISBN 978-1999755140. Volume 5 of the Tango Masters series.

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