|
 From
Zagreb, Croatia, come both members of this very exceptional duo
team who are also husband and wife. You will enjoy and admire
the performance of every single selection on this outstanding
CD.
It begins with the Albinoni "Adagio" followed by the
Vivaldi/Bach "Concerto in d minor, BWV 596" and ends
with Novikov's "Samba-Carnival" and certainly exhibiting
very different styles of music. The Acco Duo team, however, delivers
the music of those composers and all those in between, Schnittke,
Virmenych, Piazzolla, and Angelis, with artistry and flair.
The CD notes have numerous endorsements by well-known musicians
and I can only echo their words of praise! You will do so, too.
I must admit that I had favorites among the selections. The Alfred
Schnittke "Fairy Tale" was absolutely wonderful; every
note was superb. All the music on the CD has been arranged by
Acco Duo and this is among the best of all. The next piece, "Chornobryvtsi"
by Virmenych is a close runner-up, however. It is beautifully
contemplative and genuinely sensitive throughout. And, while it
is a totally different type of piece from the Schnittke, both
pieces require the same careful attention to phrasing and exacting
control of the bellows. These players are equally matched in those
abilities, it seems. They exhibit finesse with every phrase ending.
The bending of the low reeds and the quick bellows shakes in the
Schnittke again exemplifies a purposeful musical artistry rather
than a mere trick for entertainment.
"Romance" by the French composer, Franck Angelis, is
only one of his most outstanding additions to the accordion/bayan
repertoire. Angelis, in composing for the accordion, is an absolute
genius in evoking some of the same exquisite musical qualities
so often heard in the music written for organ by several very
famous and popular French composers. Let us hope he continues
to turn out such gems for a very long lifetime! While the duo
does a fine performance of this piece, and it is interesting to
hear it performed as a duo, I find it difficult for them to give
it the more impetuous and less-controlled rubato so often heard
when performed by a soloist. On the other hand, Angelis may indeed
like it exactly in this manner; it is, after all, a very fine
performance and one to be admired!
Of course, you will enjoy the two Piazzolla standards "Adios
Nonino" and "Violentango"; they are exciting arrangements
and played very well. The Novikov "Samba-Carnival" is
a perfect piece on which to close the concert. Personally, to
provide a bit more excitement, I would have enjoyed a bit less
legato and more detachment since it is such a great dance piece,
but that is nit-picking by an individual. This is wonderful playing
by an equally fine duo team.
Buy this recording; add it to your collection! I recommend it
very highly. Every single selection is worth the price of the
CD. You will like listening to it many times and you won't get
tired of hearing the pieces over and over. The artists are outstanding
performers and they have arranged the pieces extremely well for
their instruments. They know all the boundaries of both high and
low reeds on their instruments and they both show outstanding
musical interpretative abilities. Be sure and read all the musical
attributes on the CD; they will only reinforce your own good opinions!
The CD is produced by Classic Concert records. The catalog number
of the CD "Romance" is CCR 62045 and its available through
Classic Concert Music Group, email: office@classiconcernt.com
Their address is Glaneggerstrasse 55, A-5082 Salzburg - Groedig,
AUSTRIA.
Miran and Ivana Vaupotic contact is Email: ad_info@accoduo.com
Reviewed by Joan
Cochran Sommers
|
