The second International Reykjavik Accordion Festival was held from July 14th to 16th, 2000 in several locations in Reykjavik. The festival aims to provide an opportunity for accordion enthusiasts to meet their colleagues and also to present the accordion and accordion music to the public. The instrument has been played in Iceland for generations and is an important part of the musical heritage of the nation. In past years the instrument's popularity has risen, more people are learning to play and the instrument is beginning to be used in contemporary music of today as well as traditional music. It is not often that I receive recordings from accordion festivals and competitions. I believe this is the second one I have ever received, the first one was a live recording from the Coupe Mondiale, held in Slovakia in 1998. Personally, I believe recordings of highlights from such events as international accordion competitions and festivals are a great way to promote the accordion in general and, on the other hand, it gives an insight of the event to the people who were unable to attend. So, this recording represents highlights of the Reykjavik Accordion festival 2000. Tracks include solo accordion as well as accordion ensembles, various bands with accordion, and accordion orchestra. The repertoire consists of popular pieces of lighter character such as Hot Fingers, Jalousie, Flick Flack, and many, many more. Although the pieces performed are of an entertaining character and each track performed by different player, the playing standard is quite high. Perhaps my favorite tracks would be "Jazz fra Russia", jazz improvisations on the Russian themes performed skillfully, passionately and with a sharper style by Bjorke Mongeson and "La vie en rose", played by K. Jonatansson and Neister. If you are after a variety of entertaining tunes, this recording would be the way to go. |
