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September 1, 1983

Classical Nazareth, Ernesto: Tangos, Waltzes, and Polkas. Arthur Moreira Lima, piano. (Pro-Arte DIGITAL PAD-144.) - This change-of-pace album offers music that will surprise some, startle others. What would appear to be fluff and frivolity is, in fact, music of great beauty and tenderness. You can hear all the dance forms promised in the title, but the effect is more like Chopin than popular or light-classical entertainment. Nazareth straddled the 19th and 20th centuries and spent his entire life in Rio de Janeiro. One hears many influences, including even Scott Joplin, and he is said to have really created the tango form that has become a South American institution. Arthur Moreira Lima plays this from the standpoint of affection rather than salesmanship. Thus, the record has a warmth that a more commercially conceived and executed project could not hope to capture.