BETWEEN THE KEYS: Pianist Cristina Altamura, artistic director of Altamura Legacy Concerts, brings the Avalos-Solera Duo to Princeton on September 29 for a concert celebrating the Argentinian tango instrument, the bandoneon. The event is a collaboration with the Princeton Tango Club. (Photo by Maria Grazia Facciolá)

By Anne Levin

Should the audience at the September 29 “Bach en Bandoneon” concert at Princeton United Methodist Church (PUMC) be inspired to break into a spontaneous tango at its conclusion, nothing would please the planner of the concert more.

Cristina Altamura, artistic director of Altamura Legacy Concerts, wants the performance — as well as all events in the year-old music series — to be as much a house concert as a serious cultural event.

“I like to just set the stage,” Altamura said. “I want to encourage people to feel welcome, and comfortable to express themselves. It’s a very informal space. We’ll see what happens.”

Word has gotten around since pianist Altamura launched Legacy Concerts at PUMC last year. On selected Sundays at 4:30 p.m., she and a roster of guest artists perform on a restored 1924 Steinway “B grand” in the Sanford Davis Room, a living room area with Tiffany stained glass windows. The schedule is eclectic. Altamura and her husband, So Percussion’s Adam Sliwinski, deliver an informal talk before each program.

It was incredible. Every concert was pretty much full,” Altamura said of the inaugural season last year. “To me, that is a sign that people want to have a closer access to the arts. The venue just lends itself to this intimacy. We even had tourists walk in off the street, and a lot of [Princeton] University students, particularly for the hip hop show we did.”

The idea for a concert centered around the bandoneon, an accordion-like Argentinian tango instrument, developed after the Princeton Tango Club at the University reached out to Altamura about a collaboration. The performance caps a weekend of workshops and lectures about tango, on the campus.

Bandoneon players Heyni Solera and Rodrigo Avalos will play selected arrangements of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, as well as tango duets that highlight the instrument’s capabilities. Solera is a composer and ethnomusicologist, who has performed in such venues as Washington’s Kennedy Center; Avalos is a composer, arranger, and bandoneon and guitar player currently working as a professor in Buenos Aires.

The duo will be joined by Altamura on piano, for two tangos by Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla. Altamura will also play a piece by Bach before handing the program over to Solera and Avalos.

Altamura is especially enthused about the range of the concert series. “There is an intersection of different kinds of artists,” she said. “It’s really a grass roots thing, but it’s run by artists. One thing I am proud of is that I’ve used this as a platform to help young musicians and arts administrators spring into more activities. This is a great satisfaction for me, because I was given so many opportunities when I was young by smaller musical arts societies and organizations that provided these opportunities.”

Every concert opens with performances by young students. “I call them ambassadors,” Altamura said. “We have one from the University and one from Princeton High School at this concert, and I’m so happy to have them.”

Researching the bandoneon, Altamura was surprised to learn of its history. “It is the classic tango instrument, but it was actually invented in mid-19th century Germany,” she said. “I had no idea. People have asked me, ‘How can you do Bach on a bandoneon?’ But it turns out it was used in some churches that couldn’t afford big organs. So it seems so natural to play something from Bach. We’re just reaching back into history and showing how this evolved to become the iconic instrument of tango.”

The concert is Sunday, September 29 at 4:30 p.m. PUMC is at Nassau Street and Vandeventer Avenue. Tickets are $20, $40 ($10 for students). Visit legacyartsinternational.org for information.

“It’s more than a concert. It’s a party,” said Altamura. “That’s our goal.”