On
Monday September 24th, during the Milan Music Show, Strumenti &
Musica staff held a press conference to present the FIRST ISSUE that
restarts after a few years the publication of the historical magazine
founded on 1948 by Bio Boccosi.
Full Report of Official
Opening Event and Photos
Strumenti & Musica is now published by Ars Spoletium srl, a publishing and recordings company presided over by Mirco Patarini, who presented the project to a numerous group of press representatives, music trade companies, music school teachers and various enthusiasts. Much appreciated was the presence of the Deputy Mayor of Spoleto City, Daniele Benedetti who, to be present, drove 900 km in just a few hours.
The Duo D´Accord, formed by accordionists Angel Luis Castaño (Professor in the Superior Conservatory in Zaragoza) and Raquel Ruiz (accordion teacher in the Arturo Soria Conservatory in Madrid), have released a CD tited ‘Rondó Caprichoso’.
The program include transcriptions of music by Buxtehude, Bach and Rachmaninov, original music for two accordions by Hvoslef and Lundquist, and one premiere of ‘La complainte de Mandrin’, by P.Busseuil, dedicated to Dúo D´Accord. Also included on the CD are ‘Chiquilín de Bachín’ and ‘Ave Maria’, played with accordina and bandoneon by Angel Luis Castaño, and ‘Rondó Caprichoso’, by Solotarew, two accordions version.
Oleg
Sharov, Professor of Bayan at St Petersburg Conservatory, Russia,
made his British debut at the Caister Autumn Accordion Festival in
November 1990, and has since been a frequent and welcome guest at
accordion events in the UK.
His peers regard Sharov as one of the most accomplished 'free bass'
accordionists in the world today. In 1985 he had been awarded the
title of Honoured Artist of the Russian Republic by the USSR government.
In October he returns to the UK once more:
October 11th Oleg Sharov and Harry Hussey are the guest artistes at Harlow Accordion Club, in a concert at the Links Social Club, Parsloe Rd, Harlow, Essex. Contact: Jeanhanger@aol.com
October 12th, 2pm – 5pm, master class (with Ian Watson) at Morley College, London, followed by a recital at 7.30pm. For further information email: Neil@nsanders.demon.co.uk
October 12th to 15th – Eastbourne Accordion Festival; seminar and concert performances
October 17th, 7.30pm - Banstead Accordion Club, concert also features the Banstead Accordion Club Band - MD Judy Brown. Venue: United Reformed Church Hall, Fiddicroft Avenue, Banstead, Surrey SM7 3EX; email: MrBro137@aol.com
October 18th, 7.30pm – Uxbridge Accordion Club, The Anglers Retreat, Cricketfield Road/Swan Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7H; email: david.lukins@btinternet.com
The organisers are pleased to announce sending three very good Norwegian accordionists to the Roland International Competition. As there were insufficient entries for a public contest, the winners were selected by video entries.
The winner of the Solo Category: Ragnar Johnsen (picture right) born
in 1965, has won the Norwegian National Championship several times.
In 2001 he got the first prize in a national competition for composers
for his piece ‘Polkalanita’.
He
has recently been working in the USA for two years as an accordionist
on the Norwegian stand in Disney World.
The winners of the Ensemble Category: Glenn Sørskår (picture
left) and Kai Hansen (picture right), 26 and 24 years old, and both
won the Norwegian National Championships for solo, duet, Chamber Music
and Orchestra.
Mika Väyrynen
to Perform World Premiere of Accordion Concerto
Having
just returned from a highly successful concert performance of the
complete Goldberg Variations in Tokyo Japan, Finnish accordionist
Mika Väyrynen will
perform the world premiere of the new concerto "Prophecy"
for Accordion and Symphony Orchestra by the world famous composer
Erkki-Sven Tüür on October 11th. The concert will be held
in the Turku (Finland) Concert House with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra
under the direction of Olari Elts. The concert will be repeated on
October 12th.
Erkki-Sven Tüür was born on October 16, 1959 in Kärdla,
on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa. He studied flute, percussion and
composition in Tallinn and also headed the most famous rock group
in Estonia ‘In Spe’. A winner of the Cultural Prize of Estonia
in 1991 and 1996, Tüür left In Spe to concentrate on composition
and has has works commissioned from him by many groups including The
Helsinki Philharmonic, the Hilliard Ensemble, the Stockholm Saxophone
Quartet and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Merv Conn is often described as the ‘King of the Strolling Accordionists,’ and has spent over 70 years entertaining audiences large and small. On February 18th 2007, his 87th birthday, Merv Conn performed to a sell out audience at the AFI Theater in Silver Spring, Maryland.
This concert, with almost 2 hours of music, including the AFI Birthday Gala, featuring the World's First Ever 21 Accordion Salute, is now available on DVD as ‘The Legend of Merv Conn’.
St Audries Bay - Accordion & Folk Week, Devon – UK
Contributed by Rene Mairis
The week was well attended by the folk musicians who worked on recording a CD for dancing. This meant intensive study of a number of tunes, which were put together in a special book produced specifically for the week. In the evenings dances were held to give people the opportunity to both play and dance and to try out new dances, some of which worked and some did not - a worthwhile learning experience.
The 'classical' group was very small - again. Where were all you accordionists? As a result the inevitable happens, and in future there will not be an accordion week in September at St Audries, just a folk week. John Leslie will concentrate on the Easter break, which will be held from March 21st to 26th 2008.
This group worked on four ensemble pieces and enjoyed various workshops, a master class, lecture, folk music session and plenty of private lessons. Plus, of course, there was one and only Harry Hussey always on hand, ready to play at any time of the day or evening.
St Audries is always a lovely venue and everyone enjoys the relaxed atmosphere, the food, the company and the chance to play and listen to a good variety of music.
Mario Pedone in ‘Accordions by the Sea’ Festival, Victoria - Canada
Accordionist Mario Pedone has just returned from performing in a spectacular concert in Victoria, British Colombia, Canada. ‘Accordions by the Sea’, an outdoor accordion festival, featured some of the of the best accordionists in the USA and Canada in an outdoor theater with beautiful scenery. Other artistes appearing included S-Bahn, Marc Wald, Bertram Levy, Ron Lankford, Victoria Accordion Club Band, Mary Ross, and Irv Lang. Next year’s festival takes place from July 27th to 29th 2008.
Born in Italy in 1951, but raised in Venezuela where he graduated as a ‘concertista’ from music school, Mario Pedone is one of his adopted country’s most accomplished accordionists and organists. Now resident in Texas, Mario arranges, composes and performs music across a wide variety of styles.
Mario will be the guest artiste at the San Antonio Accordion Club, Texas, on October 30th, as guest artiste for their monthly meeting, performing some of his latest arrangements plus material from his large repertoire.
Zoltán Orosz is one of the most accomplished accordionists in Hungary, having studied accordion and organ at the Bela Bartok Conservatory in Budapest, then pursuing a varied career as a professional musician. Below are his upcoming concerts:
October 8th, 7pm - Zoltán Orosz Band, Benczúr Ház, 1068 Budapest, Benczúr u. 27
October 16th, 7pm - Zoltán Orosz Band, House of Arts and Literature, 7621 Pécs, Széchenyi tér 7-8
October 26th, 7pm - Zoltán
Orosz Band, National Theatre, Marosvásárhely
November 5th, 7pm - Budapest Accordion Trio, Benczúr Ház, 1068 Budapest, Benczúr u. 27
November 7th, 7pm - Budapest Accordion Trio, Veszprém City Culture Centre, 8200 Veszprém, Dózsa Gy. u. 2
November 8th, 7pm - 19h Budapest Accordion Trio, Hevesi Sándor Community Centre, 8800 Nagykanizsa, Széchenyi tér 5-9
November 9th, 7pm - Budapest Accordion Trio, Concert and Exhibition Hall - 8900 Zalaegerszeg, Ady u. 14
Mika Väyrynen Finland’s Mika Väyrynen leads a course in accordion technique from Thursday November 22nd, from 11am, until Friday 23rd, 4pm. The venue is the Musikschule Meidling Meidlinger Arcade, Wilhelmstraße 64, 1120 Vienna.
On October the 2nd,at 6:pm, the Nuevo Mundo Quartet will perform at
the International Second Chamber Music Festival in Manizales (Colombia).
Admission is free. This event is organized by The National University
of Colombia.
The Quartet’s members are Felipe García - flute, Francisco Rivera - clarinet, Leonardo Guevara – bassoon, and Lácides Romero - accordion and Musical Director. The Nuevo Mundo Quartet was founded by Lácides Romero in 1988, and has toured several cities around Colombia and Spain.
The concert will include the following: ‘Allegro in G Minor’ (Vivaldi), ‘Norvegian Dance No. 2’ (Grieg), ‘Anitra’s Dance’ (Grieg), ‘Amelita’ (Alberto Galimany), ‘The Little Negre’ (Debussy), ‘Cascades’ (S. Joplin), and Colombian music works: ‘Leonilde’ (Pedro Morales Pino), ‘Malvaloca’ (Luis a. Calvo), and ‘Brisas del Pamplonita’ (Elías Soto).
November 3rd - Dúo Alio Modo concert (A.L.Castaño, accordion and David Apellániz, cello) in the XX Century Music Festival in Segovia, Spain. Their program includes works by Kuusisto, Kaufmann and Pärt (included in his last CD titulated ‘Perspectivas’), ‘Gubaidulina’, and one premiere of ‘Solo’ for accordion by Carlos Perón.
November 4th - premiere of ‘A-....’, by Sara Minguez for alt saxophone and accordion, with F. Cabanillas - saxophone in the XX Century Music Festival in Segovia (Spain).
December 8th - solo concert at the Gnessin Institute, Moscow, in the Bayan and Bayanist Festival. Program includes works by Olavide, Del Puerto, Bach, Angelis, and Camarero.
The
Royal Academy of Music is holding an Open Day on Friday October 12th,
from 10am in the David Josefowitz Recital Hall. The Head of the Accordion
Department is Professor Owen
Murray. Admission is free.
The Academy was the first British conservatory to introduce teaching for the classical accordion. The specialist curriculum includes master classes, performance practice, accordion history, repertory, instrument maintenance and art of teaching classes.
Jerny Dolanc Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary, Lorraine – France
Contributed by Gérard Dolanc
The 50th anniversary of the Jerny Dolanc Accordion Orchestra de Freyming-Merlebach, based in Moselle, Lorraine, is to take place on October 27th, with a festival that includes a Gala Concert, starting at 8.30pm.
This concert features the Zero-Sette Orchestra, from San Sebastian of the Basque Spanish Country. On Sunday October 28th, at 2.30pm, the orchestras of Puttelange-aux-Lacs - France, Esch sur Alzette - Luxembourg, Brotdorf – Germany, Zero-Sette – Spain, and the Jerny Dolanc Orchestra.
The ‘Premio Leo Ceroni’ Accordion Festival takes place at the Teatro Comunale di Riolo Terme, Ravenna, on January 4th and 5th 2008. The final date for entries is September 30th.
London-based Serbian accordionist Milos Milivojevic is performing with the Kosmos Trio and bassist Jonny Gee. Their repertoire includes Klezmer and music from Greece and Turkey in addition to classics such as Brahms’ ‘Hungarian Dances’ and Monti’s ‘Czardas’. Concert dates are as follows:
October 3rd, 8pm - Hexham Abbey Festival, at Hexham Abbey, Beaumont St, Hexham, Northumberland NE46 3NB
October 5th, - Swaledale Festival, St Andrews, Grinton, Yorkshire
November 1st, 7.30pm - Clayhiddon Village Hall, Devon – free admission
November 11th, 1pm - Leeds International Concert Series, Leeds College Of Music, 3 Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7PD – free admission
A festival dedicated to local farming traditions and products takes place in Cessapalombo on October 6th and 7th, featuring players of the diatonic accordion and traditional regional folk music.
Accordionist,
teacher and arranger Gary
Dahl announces a selection of new arrangements available through
his website including high quality rock/pop arrangements that are
available with lessons via .mp3 files. Selections previewed
on his website include ‘Adios Muchachos’, ‘Angel
Eyes’, ‘California Dreamin’, ‘Champagne Polka’,
‘Indifference’, ‘Lara’s Theme’, ‘Misty’,
‘Under Paris Skies’, and many more.
In a recent testimonial received from Armand Dion, he says that he “…recently returned to the accordion and couldn’t find a local teacher. Then I found Gary Dahl’s web site and the impressive mp3 system. I have never been happier with my progress and my playing ability is starting to inspire standing ovations! We are 2000 miles apart but Gary’s system is very easy to use and is actually more efficient and more fun than any one on one lesson... plus, you get Gary Dahl’s expertise from 47 years of teaching, professional playing and publishing notoriety.”
For complete details of lessons, new arrangements (including sample pages of each) and his various books available, please visit www.accordions.com/garydahl or email Gary at: garydahlmusic@msn.com
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The Duo D´Accord, formed by accordionists 
1st 
He
has recently been working in the USA for two years as an accordionist
on the Norwegian stand in Disney World.
Mika Väyrynen
The
Legend of Merv Conn DVD - USA
Accordionist Mario Pedone has just returned from performing in a spectacular concert in Victoria, British Colombia, Canada. ‘Accordions by the Sea’, an outdoor accordion festival, featured some of the of the best accordionists in the USA and Canada in an outdoor theater with beautiful scenery. Other artistes appearing included S-Bahn, Marc Wald, Bertram Levy, Ron Lankford, Victoria Accordion Club Band, Mary Ross, and Irv Lang. Next year’s festival takes place from July 27th to 29th 2008.
Zoltán Orosz
Mika Väyrynen
On October the 2nd,at 6:pm, the Nuevo Mundo Quartet will perform at
the International Second Chamber Music Festival in Manizales (Colombia).
Admission is free. This event is organized by The National University
of Colombia.
Angel Luis Castaño
The
Royal Academy of Music is holding an Open Day on Friday October 12th,
from 10am in the David Josefowitz Recital Hall. The Head of the Accordion
Department is Professor 
The 50th anniversary of the Jerny Dolanc Accordion Orchestra de Freyming-Merlebach, based in Moselle, Lorraine, is to take place on October 27th, with a festival that includes a Gala Concert, starting at 8.30pm.
London-based Serbian accordionist Milos Milivojevic is performing with the Kosmos Trio and bassist Jonny Gee. Their repertoire includes Klezmer and music from Greece and Turkey in addition to classics such as Brahms’ ‘Hungarian Dances’ and Monti’s ‘Czardas’. Concert dates are as follows:
October 3rd, 8pm - Hexham Abbey Festival, at Hexham Abbey, Beaumont St, Hexham, Northumberland NE46 3NB
Accordionist,
teacher and arranger 
