N e w s   A r c h i v e   May   2000

• Ganian Murdered!! - Czech Republic
• Klingenthal Competition - Germany
• Petersburg Musette Ensemble Concert Tour - Denmark
• Russian Accordionist Performs in Ireland - Ireland

Ganian Murdered!!

It is now confirmed that accordionist Michael Ganian was murdered! This terrible tragedy occurred at a disco at the Brno Intercontinental Hotel on April 13th at 6am. It is believed that the murderer took five shots at Michael's head, heart and lungs and then calmly left the 13th floor of the hotel with a deep wound on his face, which seems to be very strange. The shots were preceded by a relatively long physical fight, allegedly over Catherine (the women portrayed on the cover of Michael's CD "Accordéon d'or"). This theory has not been confirmed as yet.

The murderer has not yet been found, but is believed to be a racketeer, gunman and hired killer; who was arrested last year for another crime, but then set free due to lack of evidence. There is much speculation over his identity. Some suspect he represents the Russian mafia in the Czech Republic, but precise details are unknown. Michael is believed to have had no contact or problems with the Russian mafia in the past. Little definite information has been released by the police.

Klingenthal Competition

The 37th International Accordion Competition in Klingenthal from May 5th to 11th, once again proved its reputation as a major international event of accordion music. The Jury consisted of famous teachers and performers: Iñaki Alberdi (Spain), Jeanette Dyremose (Denmark), Pawel Fenjuk (Ukraine), Friedrich Lips (Russia), Frédéric Deschamps, Jacques Mornet (France), Elsbeth Moser (Germany), Owen Murray, John Webb (Great Britain), Wang Yu Ping (China), Lech Puchnowski (Poland), Tibor Racz (Slovakia), Matti Rantanen (Finland), Jürgen Ganzer, Georg Reidys, Bernhard Salewski, Fritz Dobler, Tobias Morgenstern (Germany), and Radomir Tomic (Yugoslavia).

The next (38th) International Accordion Competition in Klingenthal will be held from May 4th to 10th, 2001.

Competition results:

Category I (Soloists up to 12 years)

• 1st - Josi Puritz (Russia),
• 2nd - Pawel Staniszewski (Poland),
• 3rd - Grzegorz Miszczyszyn (Poland).

Category II (Soloists up to 15 years old):

• 1st - Anton Antipov (Belarus),
• 2nd - Marko Nalentina (Yugoslavia),
• 3rd - Ivan Saric (Yugoslavia).

Category III (Soloists up to 18 years old):

• 1st - Milos Milivojevic (Yugoslavia),
• 2nd - Viktor Kiseljov (Russia),
• 3rd - Aude Giuliano (France).

Category IV (Soloists without age limit)

• 1st - Aidar Gainullin (Russia),
• 2nd - Jerôme Richard (France),
• 3rd - Michail Burlakov (Russia).

Category VA:

• 1st - Dmitri Sharshon/ Andrej Getman (Ukraine),
• 2nd - Andrzej Ceglarek/ Waldemar Zybala (Poland),
• 3rd - Maxim Valkov/Anastasia Shrinderova (Belarus)

Category VB:

• 1st - Mikolaij Majkusiak/Bartosz Karwowski (Poland),
• 2nd - Carmen Merino-Ruiz/Ulrich Schlumberger (Germany),
• 3rd - Dermot Dunne/Luis Andrade (Ireland/Portugal)

Category VI (Virtuosic light music for soloists)

• 1st - Frédéric Baldo (France),
• 2nd - Aidar Gainullin (Russia),
• 3rd - Aleksandr Shuvalov (Belarus).

Petersburg Musette Ensemble Concert Tour

The St. Petersburg Musette Ensemble began their two week tour of Denmark on May 18th. Their busy schedule includes over ten performances in different venues of Copenhagen and its suburbs. A final "Matiné" concert will be held on May 27th, arranged by local accordion group "Fjordmudikanterne". This concert will take place at the old Elværket building in Frederikssund, which has been renovated as a cultural house. An exhibition of accordions and accessories will be given by Danish accordion dealer "Tom's Harmonika Center" as part of the event. For tour details email Janne Jensen: fija@mail.tele.dk

Russian Accordionist Performs in Ireland

The Heritage town of Kells in Co. Meath, Ireland was the venue for an exciting evening of accordion music on April 30th. Guest Alexander Korbakov gave a recital of classical and Russian folk music, delighting the audience with his free bass repertoire and interpretation of Russian folk tunes. The concert also included performances by the Oristown Intermediate Accordion Orchestra and the Castletown Senior and Preparatory Accordion Orchestras.

The Oristown AO performed a popular program including "Irish Suite", "West Side Story" and "Time to say Goodbye". The orchestra will give a recital in their hometown of Kells on July 2nd, prior to their trip to the UK where they will take part in the European Concert Band Competition as part of the Midsomer Norton Mardi Gras Festival.

The Orchestra would like to contact other accordion orchestras in Europe who may be interested in an exchange or twinning program. For further details email: gerrykelly@ireland.com.