The Hof Accordion Orchestra was
founded in 1985 and currently is one of the leading accordion
orchestras in Germany. Under the guidance of its founder and conductor
Gunther Zeilinger, the Hof Accordion Orchestra has toured internationally
and performed in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa,
and USA.
"Con Espressione" is the orchestra’s
second CD and their programme for this recording covers a wide
spectrum of styles. As Gunther wrote to me: " we tried to record
all kinds of accordion music" transcriptions as well as original
music, folk music, and of course modern-pop music. The recording
also includes solo performances and one accordion quintet piece.
This is a truly exceptional performance
by the Hof Orchestra. As an orchestra, they are a well balanced,
stable unit, performing on a high professional level. My favorite
tracks would be "Werziade 4" (where they bring this dynamical
development with a lot of skill and make it sound so impressive)
and "Antique Hungarian Dance" (where the orchestra sounds like
one highly sophisticated musical unit). I don't quite agree though
with their interpretation of the Mozart style wise, nor did I
like the use of the electric keyboard in the piece. But, overall
it is a splendid recording and I give it ****
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