His paternal grandfather, a sailor and fisherman named Pantaleo (later Pantaleón) Piazzolla, had immigrated to Mar del Plata from Trani, a seaport in the southeastern Italian region of Apulia, at the end of the 19th century. Piazzolla was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 1921, the only child of Italian immigrant parents, Vicente 'Nonino' Piazzolla and Assunta Manetti.
In 1992, American music critic Stephen Holden described Piazzolla as 'the world's foremost composer of Tango music'. A virtuoso bandoneonist, he regularly performed his own compositions with a variety of ensembles. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music. Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla ( Spanish:, Italian: Ma– July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger.
