Wonderlands

Released in 2008, this new CD by Claudio Jacomucci takes us through the music of Stravinsky, Ravel, Zorn, Jacomucci and Taktakishvili to Wonderlands - "imaginary worlds of marvels and amazement." It is a marvelous collection of interesting music, both original and arranged, for the accordion.

You will enjoy listening to all of the pieces and will undoubtedly return to many of them several times before putting the CD away for the moment. Some of the music is quite provocative and cause you to listen carefully and perhaps wonder what is coming next. Other pieces will let you sit back and simply enjoy the beauty of the music.

However, regardless of your favorites, you will know the music is being performed by a talented accordionist who is also a fine composer and, obviously, one who has carefully selected the repertoire on this recording. A few of my favorites were the sensitive performance of Ravel's Ma Mère l'Oye, and both the Armenian traditional love song Du anmeg es and the striking Taktakishvili Pandur. The performances of the remaining repertoire, however, were no less satisfying. All of them once again enforce very well the fact that the accordion is an extremely versatile musical instrument when played by a fine musician, which Claudio Jacomucci obviously demonstrates in these performances.
For those of you who may not know, since 1988, he has been an international accordion prize winner several times and has collaborated with many well-known composers. In addition, he works with Kathleen Delaney, a choreographer, creating music-theatre-dance events. He has performed, adjudicated and taught in many different areas of the world. There is an informative interview with him in the July 2008 issue of the Italian Magazine Strumenti e Musica; it is in both Italian and English.


The CD has descriptive and fascinating liner notes which will guide your imagination as you listen to the music. In fact, perhaps it is important for one to read these notes before listening, thereby giving even more enjoyment. This is particularly true of the lesser-known repertoire.

His instrument has been recorded very well throughout both treble and bass in all octaves, something that is not always present in accordion CDs. For further information about the recording, released by adatto, contact Claudio Jacomucci at info@claudiojacomucci.com where you may also read more about the performer and his activities.

Reviewed by Joan Cochran Sommers