D'Arienzo in the 1950s

Lavocah described 1950 as a turn toward more vigorous playing across tango orchestras. ^[1] For D'Arienzo, the change brought renewed attention to pieces associated with his late-1930s repertoire and a move away from the more elaborate style developed during Héctor Varela's tenure. ^[1] Instrumental tangos became central to this phase, though the stronger attack also changed the setting in which the singers performed. ^[1][6]

The shift coincided with changes in the orchestra. ^[2][3] Varela left in mid-1950 to form his own group, taking most of the bandoneon section with him. ^[2][3] D'Arienzo recruited Carlos Lázzari and Enrique Alessio; Alessio led the section and wrote arrangements. ^[3] Lavocah heard greater precision and fuller bandoneon scoring in the new lineup, alongside a narrower expressive range than in the orchestra's earlier recordings. ^[4]

Lavocah characterized the new sound as bright and intense: passages could move from loud to louder, with occasional sudden drops in volume. ^[4] He singled out the 1950 recording of Tucumán as a transitional example, finding moments of restraint within its powerful frame. ^[8] Later instrumentals included El simpático, recorded in December 1951, and Yapeyú, recorded that same month from an older composition. ^[9][10] In El puntazo, recorded in August 1952, he heard the bandoneons use triplets and trills for rhythmic play. ^[11]

Alessio and Fulvio Salamanca also supplied new material with lyricists including Carlos Bahr and Reynaldo Yiso. ^[5] Lavocah found some of the comic songs short on lasting appeal, while identifying Armando Laborde's milongas among the vocal recordings he valued from this period. ^[5] He argued that the orchestra's sustained force gave singers less room for vocal shading. ^[6]

When Varela left, Armando Laborde went with him, and D'Arienzo brought in Roberto Lemos alongside Alberto Echagüe. ^[6] Lemos recorded seven tracks with the orchestra before Laborde returned in 1952. ^[6] On 13 August of that year, the reunited orchestra recorded eleven numbers in one day, including Laborde's Milonga que peina canas and the instrumental El puntazo. ^[7]

The book's 1950 overview includes a new La cumparsita among the recordings of that phase, but its detailed entry dates the recording to 12 September 1951. ^[1][8] Lavocah described the later arrangement as longer than its predecessor and noted its added bandoneon variation. ^[8] At the end of 1953, the introduction of tape masters at RCA-Victor accompanied another series of recordings of earlier hits. ^[13]

Lavocah placed the orchestra's continued recording activity against a shrinking performance circuit. ^[12][13] The Café Nacional on Corrientes closed in 1954, and the Chantecler cabaret closed in 1958. ^[12] He wrote that D'Arienzo still sometimes recorded more than fifty tracks a year during this period. ^[13]