Versatile Accordion, London, UK

A review of two concerts in November 2011 by Roland Williams

This page is linked from the Accordions Worldwide Weekly News dated 16 December 2011.

Two sharply contrasting concerts at the Royal Festival and Barbican Halls in London on November 17th and, 20th 2011 saw the accordion presented to two very large audiences in very different styled programmes. At the Festival Hall on November 17th the French accordionist Richard Galliano presented a concert with his new young group, La Strada Quintet. At the Barbican on November 23rd the Norwegian accordionist, Gier Draugsvoll, gave a UK première performance of a new concerto by Sofia Gubaidulina with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev.

This is Gubaidulina’s second concerto for accordion and is a big addition to the works she has produced for our instrument. Gubaidulina, who celebrates her 80th birthday this year, has a huge musical output and is one of the world’s leading composers of the late 20th and 21st centuries. Her music is very serious, often highly spiritual, usually surprises and certainly does not bend to popularity, which sharply divides the accordion world.

This concerto is called ‘Fachwerk’, which literally translated means ‘Timber Framework’. Gubaidulina says that this title relates “to my enthusiasm for the architectural style of timber framing….a style in which the construction elements of a building are not hidden behind a façade but….are shown openly….I imagined that one could show something in music of this style, i.e. compose in a way that the instrument would become visible and transformed into something of an aesthetic nature….the bayan is an instrument which makes it possible to realise this idea”.

This is a long work of more than 35 minutes and is not a conventional three-movement concerto. One might describe it as a series of episodes between accordion and orchestra, building frequently with heavy chords to climaxes followed by unexpected diminuendo. The sound effects between accordion and orchestra are certainly subtle. The heavy chords with tutti are interspersed with delicate filigree passages with upward swoops with strings and marimba in the orchestra. Sometimes there is deep stillness. The ‘Framework’ idea is evident in the attention to the soloist’s bellows sometimes used at fullest extension in the organ-like chord passages and sometimes a shuddering use with bellow shake.

The work is undoubtedly inventive in its use of the musical resources of the accordion and the orchestra but left the impression of being rather long for the ideas it contains. As a new work it is likely to be controversial which will certainly get it noticed. Perhaps to ensure that it is not forgotten after the premiere, NAXOS has issued a CD of it to coincide with the UK première.

Draugsvoll also has a series of premières in countries around Europe and the world. In London it was well received by a capacity audience at the Barbican, but it should be said that it was played between performances of two very popular symphonies, Prokofiev’s ‘Classical’ Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s ‘No 5’. The score is published by Hans Sikorski. Draugsvoll’s performance was excellent and well deserving of the very enthusiastic reception he received.

Very different indeed was the concert by Richard Galliano at the Royal Festival Hall in the London Jazz Festival. Here is a wonderful accordionist who sets out to entertain on his own and in his own style. For the first half of the concert Galliano performed solo with splendid improvisation of popular pieces of Astor Piazzolla and his own adaptation of French musette works, all performed with extraordinary improvisation and dexterity. The second half of the concert with the La Strada Quintet was a tribute to Nina Rota using the music composed for films such as ‘The Godfather’, ‘La Dolce Vita’, ‘La Strada’, and others. Galliano’s performance with his group is recorded on a CD by Deutche Grammophon.

As if to emphasize further his great musical versatility and dexterity and that of the accordion itself, the CD of the music of Nina Rota is published by Deutche Grammophon, together with ‘Richard Galliano/Bach.’ Galliano states that his aim is‘….to throw new light on all the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and infuse it with something new.’ It does just that wonderfully. All accordion enthusiasts should have a copy of these CDs.