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http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=19-Jun-2015&lang=es&s=10488
http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=19-Jun-2015&lang=es&s=10488
19-Jun-2015
by Harley Jones
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 A search on youtube shows Toccata and Fugue in D minor as far the most popular accordion/Bach work with New Zealander Campbell Bettridge the first to have over 1 million views. This may even be the most viewed 'classical accordion' performance.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmTG9wTfrzk Campbell Bettridge won the NZ Accordion Championships in1993 and 1994 and also performed solo to standing ovations internationally with the Air New Zealand Accordion Orchestra on tour in 1994 and 1996 and other international tours and performances in USA, Russia and China. A New York Times review by Allan Kozinn in September 1994 said: "..... there were some eyebrow-raising virtuoso solo turns. The most astonishing performance of the evening, in fact, was a note perfect rendering of the finale of Bach's "Italian" Concerto by Campbell Betteridge." Campbell Bettridge wrote: "How I came about to learn Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. Bach has been my favorite composer for as long as I can remember. His complex harmonies, and perfect structure too alluring to not attempt. A combination of recordings by Glenn Gould on piano and Marie Efford-Masefield on accordion led me to Italian Concerto, which I performed internationally on many occasions. With these successes came a confidence towards performing this type of music. Friedrich Lips was the most influential person to me when it came to Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. After listening to his recording for years, and wondering if it might be possible to play on a piano accordion, I decided to investigate the possibility of learning it by arranging the work from the original organ score for my piano accordion with 160 bass quint free bass system. On-and-off, it took about a year to work out the difficult sections and another year to complete arranging and learning the work. I have since performed the work in many parts of the world, including China a number of times, Russia, and New Zealand. The recording on YouTube is from a concert in Christchurch for the Canterbury Accordion Association (CAA) in 2002. This is just prior to the 2002 Coupe Mondiale in Copenhagen. It was some years after this, that the recording found its way onto YouTube, because of a request from a friend, to see me in performance. I am happily surprised about the amazing number of views this video has received, and very glad that we can display the accordion performing this style of music." Campbell Bettridge's arrangement has now been made available online at Catalog: bettridge01 |