Accordion Illusions – Stanislav Venglevski Stanislav Venglevski, known to everyone as Stas, has carved out a wonderful professional career in the United States after moving there in 1992 from Moldava. In this CD he demonstrates his talents as a composer for both solo and duet, giving ample demonstration of both. Here is a terrifically gifted young man beginning to stretch out and find even more avenues for his gifts. Listeners will always appreciate his energetic and youthful approach to some melodies that become a bit “tried and true” but always seem to be successful with the audiences. Stas is a very warm and likeable musician with a twinkle in his eye that reaches out and grabs you. In addition, Stanislav Venglevski has a store of technical proficiency just waiting to be unleashed at every opportunity. He has no trouble playing what he wants to play…there is no lack of perfection in every arpeggio or scale! They are clean, clear, and marvelous in execution. This collection of Venglevski compositions is performed by two fine musicians…Mike Alongi and, of course, Stas. Mike plays very well indeed and it is hard to tell the two players apart sometimes which, after all, is a definite plus in the playing of duets. They compliment each other extremely well. This is a demonstration of fine musicians playing the accordion and the bayan with no straining of reeds and no bombastic displays to distort the inherent beauty possible with the accordion. Everything is performed with a very fine sense of musical artistry. Students working to play a simple trill should listen and marvel at the trills shown through #7. Fluttering Birds (Duet); they are beautifully executed! It is that kind of attention that makes this whole collection fine, in my opinion. The listener will find his own personal favorites within the repertoire. All pieces have a simplicity and beauty about them that, with repetition, become a bit cloying at times but then Stas finds a way to interject an unsuspected rhythmic pattern into the mix, giving you a jolt of excitement and surprise. Personally, I am looking forward to the composer’s efforts in the future and hoping for a few more mature and substantive pieces with the same great appeal as these very entertaining ones. If I picked my favorites, however, I think I might say the pieces comprising the Menagerie Suite. Some of these are just absolute gems! They remind me of the compositions of the Russian composer, Evgeny Derbenko, in some respects. Let your own imagination soar when you listen to #12. Mice Party Polka (Duet) and you may well believe you could be watching cartoons and seeing the kitchen mice skittering about until suddenly their arch enemy, the big old menacing house-cat, shuts them down with an immediate and very abrupt conclusion to their disrespectful partying in his domain! But #14. Midnight Waltz reminds me of the Jean Sibelius Valse Triste, Op. 44, so hauntingly lovely in its simplicity and pathos. On this occasion, however, I see an old couple, devoted to each other, dancing with an elegance only known by the aged but with a momentary and very discreet taking of needed breath before continuing their waltz at midnight and finding their evening rest. It is this sort of composition, along with the previously mentioned Menagerie Suite, that gives me an expectancy and assurance of a long career for Stanislav Venglevski, not only as a fine player but also as an interesting and intriguing composer of music for our instrument. I recommend this CD and, without reservation, I know that you will also like it and recommend it to others, too. Reviewed by Joan Cochran Sommers, July 2007 This CD is available on the Stanislav Venglevski site on MusicForAccordion.com - high security eCommerce site run by WorldPay.com, part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group |
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