It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of David Keen
ABCA (TD), LBCA, Editor of the magazine "Accordion World"
which he started in 1998 and continued until today. David Keen is
a past NAO Chairman for the years 1985, 87, 88 and 89, accordionist,
and an adjudicator.
David passed away this morning 9th February 2008 at 07.30am, aged
52, at The Michael Sobell House, Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood,
Middlesex after a long battle with cancer.
Funeral arrangements will be announced shortly
David will be sadly missed, our thoughts are with his mother Elsie
at this very sad time. A truly memorable person and supporter of the
accordion.
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Milos Milivojevic's Solo Recital, London - UK
Contributed by Roland Williams
Milos
Milivojevic gave an outstanding solo recital at the Royal Academy
of Music on January 17th. Accordion tutor is Owen
Murray. Milos' program demonstrated not only his skill and dexterity
but his obvious delight in what can be done with his instrument with
music from Scarlatti to contemporary composers Luciano Berio and Magnus
Lindberg.
Before a presentation of 'Jeux D'Anches', by Lindberg, Milos introduced
a movement from Mendelssohn's rarely heard 'Organ Sonata No 6' to
which he gave a majestic fully rounded organ-like sound appropriate
to this music. Another fine performance came from playing movements
from Greig's 'Holberg Suite'.
Milos was joined in the second half by The Brooks Quartet for a performance
of 3 movements from Astor Piazzolla's 'Five Tango Sensations'. The
group produced an elegant and beautifully tonally balanced performance.
Milos concluded his recital with an amazing virtuosic display of Pablo
de Sarasate's 'Introduction and Tarantella'. Click to read the full
concert review by Roland Williams.
On
February 12th the accordion duo Royseng/Aase will release the CD 'The
Journeyman's Test'.
Royseng/Aase Lars Røyseng and Stian Aase are leading Norwegian
accordionists, who studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music 10 years
ago, where they formed the Røyseng/Aase duo.
The duo has toured most of Norway. They have held over 300 school
concerts for the Norwegian 'Rikskonsertene', and have performed in
Bulgaria, Iceland, Italy, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Germany.
Twice, the duo received prizes in the International Accordion Competition
in Castelfidardo, Italy. Røyseng/Aase have also been Norwegian
Champions three times.
In autumn of 2006, they participated in the television talent show
'Kjempesjansen' on NRK1 that had almost 1 million viewers. The duo
received much praise for their performance, and for the great publicity
they gave the accordion.
The music on this CD is typical of the program that Røyseng/Aase
perform in concert. The composer Jo Asgeir Lie arranged the opening
track 'The Journeyman's Test', for the duo. The CD also includes music
by Vivaldi, Bach and Grieg, plus virtuoso Russian arrangements, flaming
Argentinean tango, and Finnish jenka.
From
the 1st January 2008 the Borsini
Accordion Factory will be operating as “Bottega D'Arte”
(Art Workshop): each model, every type and price will be manufactured
with the greatest care to detail as an instrument for artists produced
by artists.
Carlo Borsini, son of Giancarlo, has joined the Borsini s.r.l. Accordion
Factory which means a "new generation - working for quality".
Giancarlo Borsini says: "Words, slogans
and material values alone are not however sufficient to work as a
“Bottega D'Arte” (Art Workshop). What we need are above
all, is ethical, professional and artistic values."
Carlo
has a mix of commercial and technical experience gained in the past
within the Borsini
Accordion Factory which means that he knows the production process
from A to Z. This is why he, together with Vincenzo, will be responsible
for tuning and the final control stage. Through Carlo, Borsini s.r.l.
intends to ensure the continuity of the process of consolidation and
improvement of its already very high quality standards.
The
“Bottega D'Arte” / Borsini e Carlo will be attending the
next Frankfurt Musik Messe (Music Fair) where they will be happy to
meet you in HALL 3.1 - STAND 13F to discuss new ideas and proposals
for the future.
The
late Sir
Jimmy Shand, the legendary Scottish accordionist, born 100 years
ago this year, has had his famous 'Bluebell Polka' recording bootlegged
with the American rap star 50 Cent 'In Da Club' in a novelty release
titled 'Jimmy Shand Vs 50 Cent'. The track '50 Bluebells' refers to
the splicing of 'In DA Club' over the top of the Jimmy Shand recording
of 'Bluebell Polka'.
Rapper 50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson) dons a kilt to duet with
Sir
Jimmy Shand and his accordion, whilst singers Glen Cambell and
Britney Spears are amongst various others whose recordings have been
mixed with rap music. This limited edition release, titled 'Cowboy
Boots', sold out in record time after being nominated as LP vinyl
release of the week in London's flagship HMV store, prompting further
interest via youtube on the Internet.
This recording, apart from being artistically unconventional, has
also made news as it infringes copyright. The Internet release uses
a copyrighted picture of renowned Australian-based Scottish accordionist
John
Macdonald with Sir Jimmy Shand taken in 1976, which was digitally
altered to remove John
Macdonald's head and replace it with the head of rapper 50 Cent.
Quite what Sir Jimmy Shand would have made of this eccentric rap version
of his 'Bluebell Polka' recording is anyone's guess! One thing is
for certain - the accordion has now been introduced to a generation
of rappers.
Inspired by Gary Larson's infamous cartoon: "Welcome to heaven.
Here's your harp. Welcome to hell. Here's your accordion", the
2008 Celtic connections festival in Glasgow, Scotland, featured concerts
in the Royal Concert Hall on consecutive evenings: 'Harp Heaven' and
'Accordion Hell'. Both concerts entered into the spirit of the cartoon,
with the harpists making jokes about the accordion, and the accordionists
wearing horns and carrying tridents!
'Accordion Hell', featured the diverse talents and instruments of
Karen Tweed - piano accordion, Phil Cunningham - piano accordion,
Maria Kalaniemi - 5 row button accordion, Sandy Brechin - piano accordion,
Angus Lyon - piano accordion, Dermot Byrne - 2 row diatonic button
accordion, Andy Cutting - Club Model diatonic accordion, and Mick
McAuley - 2 row melodeon.
"Welcome to Hell! We believe it's the best place to be. And it's
the full moon, so anything could happen...", was how the concert
was introduced by Karen Tweed. All eight played, backed by guitar
and bodhran, launched into an exuberant rendition of 'The Bluebell
Polka', after which the players took turns to perform music from many
genres, with accompanying guitarist Tim Edey wearing a vampire's silk
cape.
Wearing a large set of pink horns, Finland's Maria Kalaniemi declared
herself at home, reminding the audience that she comes from HELsinki!
The Irish players Dermot Byrne and Mick McAuley played jigs and reels,
both solo and as a duo. Dermot Byrne joined forces with guitarist
Tim Edey to perform 'Tico Tico', one of the show's highlights.
The concert finished with all players together for a grand finale,
joined onstage by Celtic Connections director Donald Shaw on piano,
earning tumultuous applause as the jammed 'The Atholl Highlanders'.
Zero Sette Akordeoi Orkestra's 20th Anniversary
CD, - Spain
Viktor Romanko at 'Accordion is cool 2008', Bisamberg
- Austria
Contributed by Jutta Menn
A
concert by Prof. Viktor Romanko, from Jekaterinburg, Russia, and arranged
by Hohner, proved
to one of the main highlights of the festival 'Accordion is cool 2008',
held recently in Bisamberg.
A program of well-known classics included 'Winter', from Vivaldi's
'Four Seasons', and 'Oblivion' and 'Libertango', by Astor Piazzolla.
In addition, Victor Romanko performed original literature for accordion
by Russian composers, such as the 'Carpathian Mountains' suite.
His impressive two handed finger dexterity on the Hohner
bayan was particularly impressive. Romanko, who speaks excellent German,
afterwards answered many questions about the accordion and his repertoire,
also showing a great sense of humour.
For a week in late January/early February the bars and restaurants
of the French ski resort La Bresse were animated to the sound of accordions.
Around fifteen accordion artistes, including Jean-Marc Torchy, Sylvie
Pulles, Denys Gigot, Jean-Louis
Noton and Franck Villain, also played for dancing in the party
room.
A public of about 500 persons were able to dance continuously to musette
music.
The
Renato Borghetti Quartet, on a European tour from Brazil, perform
in concert at L'istituto di Musica Della Pedemontana, Aviano, on February
17th, 8.45, in the Theater Pileo.
Borghetti's program will include material from his recent CD 'Fandango!'.
The
Alabama Accordionists Association will host guest artistes Peter
and Mady Soave in a special concert on Saturday February 23rd
in Birmingham, Alabama. Peter
Soave is one of the greatest accordionists in the history of the
USA with many international competition successes, and today, an accordion
and bandoneon virtuoso who is performing regularly all over the world
with symphony orchestras, solo and duo.
The concert will take place at the Bluff Park United Methodist Church,
beginning at 1pm.
An International Accordion Competition takes place at the Conservatoire
Slave de Musique, rue Victor Hugo 59, Bagnolet, near Paris, on March
8th, 9th and 10th. The closing date for entries is February 29th.
For further information email: depart.conserslave@gmail.com
International Music Festival, Arandjelovac - Serbia
The music school 'Petar Ilic' in Arandjelovac, Serbia, is the organizer
of the International Music Festival for primary music school students.
This piano, accordion and guitar festival will be held in Arandjelovac,
from March 19th to March 23rd. The accordion competition takes place
on March 21st. Full details are now available, and the final date
for entries is February 20th.
Domi Emorine and Roman Jbanov, known as the Paris-
Moscow Duo lead a course for developing accordion playing techniques
at La Bourboule, from August 9th to 14th. The course concludes with
a performance by the Paris-Moscow Duo on August 14th, at 9pm.
Sebastiano Zorza (accordion
and leader);
Marko Feri (guitar)
Aleksander Pavnovic (drums)
Giorgio Fritsch (drums)
The Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes
(CIA) website found at http://www.accordions.com/cia/winter_08.htm
has been updated to reflect daily reports from the Winter Congress
in Macedonia, new members and recipients of the various CIA Awards.
English
Deutsch
Français
Italiano 
Español
Chinese 
Russian 
David
Keen ABCA(TD), LBCA, (1955 to 2008)
Milos
Milivojevic gave an outstanding solo recital at the Royal Academy
of Music on January 17th. Accordion tutor is 
On
February 12th the accordion duo Royseng/Aase will release the CD 'The
Journeyman's Test'.
From
the 1st January 2008 the 
Carlo
has a mix of commercial and technical experience gained in the past
within the 
The
late 
The
Zero Sette Akordeoi Orkestra celebrated their 20th anniversary in
2007 with a series of events that includes the release of a commemorative
CD. 
A
concert by Prof. Viktor Romanko, from Jekaterinburg, Russia, and arranged
by 
'Accords
des Montagnes' Festival - France 
The
Renato Borghetti Quartet, on a European tour from Brazil, perform
in concert at L'istituto di Musica Della Pedemontana, Aviano, on February
17th, 8.45, in the Theater Pileo. 
The
Alabama Accordionists Association will host guest artistes 
Paris-
Moscow Duo Course, La Bourboule - France
