 Oh,
that every music critic, all agents who book concerts, and every musician
living in an "Ivory Tower" atmosphere could hear this extremely
fine recording!For that matter, I wish every person who loves truly fine music and great performances by musical artists could listen to this CD. It is a superb example of how the accordion can sound when played by those few and very rare musicians such as the Finnish virtuoso Mika Väyrynen. What a gift this performer is to the world of music and, more particularly, to the world of the accordion! First of all, the selected repertoire cannot help but please the most demanding of listeners. Even those few remaining people who rant and rave about transcriptions for any instrument could never disagree with selection of these well-chosen gems. Each piece is suited to the instrument; no other one could provide a better representation of the composer's written symbols. It is beautiful and interesting music and you will want to listen to it innumerable times; you will not tire of it. Secondly, the performer, Mika Väyrynen, can only amaze the listener with his control of the instrument. That heart and soul of the accordion, the bellows, is superbly manipulated and coaxed to squeeze life into every single utterance of the instrument's beautiful reeds. Absolutely nothing is left to chance; every movement of the bellows is planned to enhance the quality of the music. And yet it is accomplished with an air of just exactly the right amount of dynamic flavor and style without being pretentious or cloying. Every note and phrase has finesse but there is no lack of voluminous depth when needed. It is exciting to hear; there is no boredom. This performer is an artist of the very highest quality; he is one who must be kept busy performing throughout the world, particularly for those who choose to exalt and revere the "elite" performers in other musical fields. Mika Väyrynen brings honor to music and the accordion! Let us hope the accordion world recognizes this advantage. Thirdly, the sound of the instrument will also give great pleasure to the ear accustomed to hearing beautiful musical sounds. Mika has chosen well, too, in the recording process. There is no ugly brightness, no dull darkness, no edgy distortion; the sound qualities are just right. Seemingly, the acoustics have been selected with great care and attention; perhaps those sound engineers love the accordion as much as Mika obviously does. Buy this recording! Buy extras and present them to every lover of music that you know. Send one to your local newspaper's music critic. Give one to the person who books the world's finest performers for concerts in your city. Tell people about Mika Väyrynen. Mika Väyrynen deserves to be heard! For further information on Mika Väyrynen and his CD recordings, please visit: www.accordions.com/mika Reviewed by Prof. Joan C. Sommers. |
