Troilo in the 1950s

Lavocah described 1950 as a turning point for Troilo’s orchestra: audiences were dancing less, and Troilo allowed Piazzolla to change the music’s style more freely. ^[1] The shift appeared in Para lucirse, a Piazzolla composition and arrangement recorded on 24 November 1950, which Lavocah heard as moving away from the orchestra’s earlier dance music. ^[7]

Troilo’s move to the new local label TK brought recording difficulties. ^[2] Its first release of Che bandoneón was withdrawn because of poor sound, and early masters also suffered from the recording conditions at Emelco Movie Studios. ^[8] TK began using Radio Splendid’s studios in May 1952 and recorded new versions of Inspiración, La cumparsita and Responso, although Lavocah found that its records still lagged behind those of other firms in sound quality. ^[8]

Troilo continued composing alongside Piazzolla’s contributions: among the first ten numbers recorded for TK, Lavocah identified four by Troilo—Che bandoneón, La trampera, Discepolín and Responso. ^[3] Instrumentals took a larger place than they had in the vocal dominated 1940s repertoire, including new versions of Quejas de bandoneón and Ojos negros. ^[3] Piazzolla’s Prepárense, recorded in March 1951, combined a strong rhythmic theme with a later passage scored for cello, viola and violin. ^[9]

Jorge Casal joined Troilo after fulfilling a carnival engagement with Florindo Sassone in 1950. ^[4] Raúl Berón joined on 1 February 1951 and sang Discepolín, which Troilo recorded on 29 May, weeks after its lyricist Homero Manzi died. ^[5][10] Berón also recorded a new arrangement of Manzi’s Malena in August 1952. ^[11]

Troilo appeared in the stage adaptation of El patio de la morocha, which opened on 24 April 1953; Piazzolla directed its orchestra and wrote most of its arrangements. ^[12] In the production, Troilo played La cachila with guitarist Roberto Grela. ^[13] Their performance led to the Troilo–Grela quartet, which recorded twelve numbers between 1953 and 1955. ^[13]

Troilo composed Responso as a tribute to his friend and collaborator Manzi, who died on 3 May 1951. ^[6][10] Troilo recorded it on 29 May, the same day as Discepolín, and the two pieces appeared on opposite sides of one record. ^[10] Lavocah reported that the piece remained painful for Troilo to perform. ^[14]

Troilo left TK for Odeon in 1957. ^[8] TK went bankrupt in 1963, and later rights complications limited reissues; Lavocah reported that the original TK masters appeared to be lost. ^[8][15]