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http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=01-Nov-2013&lang=ru&s=7941
http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=01-Nov-2013&lang=ru&s=7941
01-Nov-2013
by Rob Howard
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| Here is a video of Dr William Schimmel’s performance of Beethoven's ‘Egmont’ at Lincoln Center's 'Mostly Mozart Festival' in August 2013, New York. New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini wrote: The evening opened with the premiere of the accordionist and composer William Schimmel’s version of Beethoven’s “Egmont” Overture for solo accordion. This was no gimmick. Yes, the piece is a novelty, charming and sometimes funny. But amid stretches of faithful rendering, Mr. Schimmel offers a bold gloss on the overture that makes you think about Beethoven’s music. "The slow, somber introduction to Beethoven’s 'Egmont' Overture translated vibrantly to the accordion in Mr. Schimmel’s rendering. The introduction’s theme in stern, short chords sounded at once strange and endearing as played in reedy colors on the accordion. Passages in the original where the orchestra swells with sound were easily dispatched by the accordion’s bellows. During the agitated main section of the overture, stretches of hard-driving rhythms morphed into an intense tango. A plaintive passage took on a mournful Middle Eastern cast. At one point, the piece broke into what seemed like subdued flamenco, complete with Mr. Schimmel’s soft, wordless singing. His arrangement of the overture was in the honored tradition of Liszt’s piano fantasias on themes from opera." New York-based Dr William Schimmel is a virtuoso accordionist, author, educator, philosopher and composer. He has performed with virtually every major symphony orchestra in the USA, and his musical accomplishments are many and varied, including everything from founding the Tango Project to appearing with Al Pacino in the film ‘Scent of a Woman’, composing scores for Broadway shows to composing a test piece for the CIA Coupe Mondiale, and much else besides. For nearly 20 years Bill Schimmel has been the moderator of the annual three day master class and concert series sponsored by the American Accordionists' Association. He is listed in ‘Who's Who in America’ and ‘Great Minds of the 21st Century’. |