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Highlights |
Results and Photos, 49th Klingenthal International Accordion Competition - Germanyby Holda Paoletti-Kampl |
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2012 Klingenthal Results and photos of accordionists, enthusiasts and friends attending the 49th International Accordion Competition 2012 Klingenthal |
2013 Winter Congress in Vienna - Austriaby Harley Jones |
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![]() Delegates and attendees will stay at the Hotel Stefanie in Vienna. Vienna International Airport is about 16 km east of Vienna in Schwechat. The city center can be reached quickly and in comfort by public transport. Contact persons are HVÖ President Werner Weibert (picture top right) and HVÖ Vice-President Dr. Herbert Scheibenreif (picture right). Schedule: February 1, 2013, Welcome Reception, then a concert by the Viennese Accordion Ensemble February 2, 2013, daytime meetings, Visit of Mozart Haus and Haus der Musik, Viennese Evening at Augustinerkeller February 3, 2013, morning meetings, Lunch and Check-out Full information including registration details can be found on the CIA website. Next major event for the CIA is the 2012 Coupe Mondiale, 21 - 25 August in Spoleto, Italy. Full information is available on the Coupe Mondiale website. |
Important 2012 Chinese Festivals and Competitions - Chinaby Prof. Li Cong, President, China Accordion Association |
![]() 2012 Guizhou China “Summer of Huaxi” Art Festival and 1st National (accordion and Electronic organ ) invitational competition. July 26th to July 29th, 2012 in Huaxi, Guiyang, Guizhou. Harbin 2012 China“Summer of Harbin” International Accordion Festival, August 7th to August 10th, 2012 at the Music College of Harbin Normal University. Full information, rules and entry forms in English are available online: Harbin 2012 In Chinese at: http://www.accordions.com/china/yuandi/2012-04 ha er bin.html 2012 “Baidi Cup” National Accordion Competitions, August 11th to 13th, 2012, Jinan, Shandong. Entry information in Chinese at: http://www.accordions.com/china/yuandi/2012-04 baidibei-buchongtongzhi.html 2012 “Hohner Cup” National Accordion Virtuoso Entertainment Competition, August 15th to August 17th, 2012 in Beijing. Entry information in Chinese at: http://www.accordions.com/china/yuandi/2012-04 hohnerbisai-richengbiao.html The 4th Tianjin China Accordion Festival, October 1st to October 5th, 2012, Tianjin Music Conservatory, Tianjin. Entry information in Chinese at: http://www.accordions.com/china/ For further information email China Accordion Association (CAA) President Prof. Li Cong at: licong@vip.sina.com |
AAA Festival, July 11-15th, Baltimore - USAby Rita Barnea |
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![]() President Linda Soley Reed (picture right) wrote: "If you have not made your hotel reservations as yet, I encourage you to do so as soon as possible. We already had to add extra rooms to our commitment so don't be left out – make your reservations NOW!" New this year is the Junior Festival Orchestra under the direction of Mary Tokarski. Another new addition is the “Finale” workshop by Don Gerundo which will be a hands-on workshop with the basics of learning this music writing program. Back by popular demand will be the Youth Outreach Jazz Ensemble with select young musicians from the Baltimore school system partnered with ambitious young accordionists. Both the Junior Festival Orchestra and the Youth Outreach Jazz Ensemble will perform at the Awards Concert on Saturday afternoon, July 14th. The Festival will also see the return of the Digital Entertainment category and on the AAA website, are listed all the competition categories and Festival application / entry forms. Thursday night will feature an Italian Cabaret night. Friday evening performers include the Busso Trio (comprised of Frank; Frank, Jr.; and Christina), Tatiana Semichastnaya. and Stas Venglevski. This year the Festival Orchestra features Mary Tokarski as soloist. Vladimir Mollov and Mary Tokarski will also be featured as “two soloists”. Dr. Robert Young McMahan will be joined by prominent classical saxophonist Dr. Paul Cohen in a performance of McMahan’s new composition for accordion and saxophone. Gabe Hall-Rodrigues and Frank Petrilli will perform solos and duets at concerts during the Festival. There is a comprehensive schedule of workshops and seminars listed below. Plan this summer around the festival's exciting days of Workshops, Exhibits, Cabaret, Luncheon Concert, Gala Concert, and Festival Orchestras. The event will be held at the Sheraton City Center in Baltimore. It is surrounded by shops, restaurants, and in walking distance of the famous Baltimore Inner Harbor, National Aquarium, Maryland Science Center and numerous other attractions. Please refer to the AAA website and the USA News for updates on the festival. For further information: aaa1938@aol.com |
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Premiere of the Cantata "Genesis" for Accordion, Percussion and Choir, Cantabria - Spainby Alejandro Martinez Ares |
![]() The composer, Israel Lopez Estelche (photo lower right) was born in 1983 in Santoña, Cantabria and has studied with composers such as Luis de Pablo, Cristobal Halffter, David del Puerto and others. He was recently awarded the Symphonic Composition "OSPA XX years" with his work De la eternidad Concéntrica. Israel L. Estelche is a big fan of the accordion and squeezes its multiple possibilities in a free language and eclectic style as the very nature of his latest work, Genesis. The premiere performers will be: Alejandro Martinez Ares (accordion - photo right), Jaime Moraga Vásquez (percussion) and Cantabria Chamber Choir (director: Jesús Manuel Piedra). The premiere will take place on May 26 at 20.00 hours in the Church of Santa Maria, Laredo, Cantabria and will undoubtedly be a very special day for lovers of good music. Genesis is a work of high quality drama and expressiveness, which features strongly in the music of Israel L. Estelch. For further information contact Alejandro Martinez Ares |
Reports for Concerts, Masterclasses, Competitions, Festivals, etc. |
6th Accordion Art Festival & Contests, Pineto - Italyby Renzo Ruggieri |
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On the 16th and 17th June 2012 the 6th Accordion Art Festival & Contests takes place in Pineto. After the very successful 5th edition, the event will again take place in Pineto. Competition categories include: • ITALIA AWARD International Competition Award (dedicated to classic-virtuoso-electronic accordion, piano/keyboard, guitar, singing, jazz, electronic accordion, composition, groups) • ORPHEUS AWARD 2012 (the only critics award for Italian accordion CD's, MP3 divided into classical, jazz and world music). • CMA NATIONAL SELECTION (for access to the next CMA Trophée Mondial in Spokane, USA in October 2012) Entry closing date is: 5th June 2012 Artistic Director Event: Renzo Ruggieri Artistic Director for Orpheus Award: Fabio Ciminiera President: Salvatore Cauteruccio Secretary: Claudio Azzaro For further information email: info@accordionartfestival.com |
Torkest Accordion Orchestra (Netherlands) Visit to Renfrew - Scotlandby Robin Hyland |
![]() An advanced party arrived by ferry with their accordions on the Friday afternoon, and along with JBAO conductor Gary Blair and Robin Hyland, the party went to Glasgow Airport to meet the remaining 27 members of the Torkest Orchestra, which resulted in a "Sing Song" as they came out of the exit doors! Saturday's concert was a brilliant affair for both orchestras. The JBAO started proceedings with a vast array of different styles of music from Scottish, French to Rock & Pop. Torkest also had a great variety of styles which included Rock, Baroque, Symphonies etc. On Sunday night both of the orchestras had a Ceilidh (Scottish dancing/party), at which our visitors certainly let their hair down!! Monday morning, the Torkest Orchestra played two concerts at the Alexandra Parade Primary School in Glasgow, which was very well received by the enthusiastic children. On Tuesday, they went sight seeing in Edinburgh, followed by another concert on the Wednesday afternoon to students of Renfrew High School. The trip was rounded off with a party for both orchestras, who had a great jam session and plenty plenty food!! Thursday was time to head home, but not before a wee sing song in Gary Blair's house! Picture below: concert final bows. |
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Acordionada, More than 120 Accordions & VibraTango, Lleida - Spainby Ferran Martinez |
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On May 5th, the Catalan Association of accordionists in the city of Lleida celebrated the 10th Acordionada, with the participation of 120 musicians and various outdoor activities to promote the accordion. Lleida City is one of the oldet cities in Spain, about 180 km from Barcelona. For May 5th, it became the capital of the accordion with the 10th Acordionada, a meeting that is prepared throughout the year and takes place in a different city each year. On this occasion, 120 accordionists, between 8 and 70 years, gathered in Lleida, from a dozens of towns throughout Catalonia. Performances at the Enric Granados Auditorium included Vibratango (picture above), several groups of small, medium, and large numbers throughout the day and there was also open air concerts. The Deputy Mayor Montse Parra congratulated the ACDA for this the event, highlighting their involvement and initiative. President of ACDA, Raquel Prado, said that the proposal arose from the desire of music schools and conservatories, where there were accordionists, to promote their instrument. The 10th Acordionada was well supported with very good audiences. |
Video Montage of Photos, Young Accordionists Festival, Skopje - Macedoniaby Anica Karakutovska |
![]() Above is a video montage of photos from the festival accompanied by music recorded at recent concerts by students of Prof. Zorica Karakutovska. The music includes "Macedonian Timeline" solo by Elizabeta Ilievska- Bete. MAA President Prof. Zorica Karakutovska started the festival with a lecture about the history of the accordion followed by a mini concert by students from the Faculty of Music Skopje, class of Prof.Zorica Karakutovska. Within the festival, all students performed as part of a whole day filled with different activities, sharing experiences and information of the latest activities and future plans. The festival finished with diploma giving ceremony and after party for the participants. MAA Public Relations Anica Karakutovska announced that the next activity of the association will be the qualifications for Macedonian representatives for all competition categories of the Coupe Mondiale 2012. These qualifications will be held in June. For further information, email: anica2206@yahoo.com |
Future events |
Upcoming Beltango Europe Tour - Germany, Switzerland, Austriaby Aleksandar Nikolic |
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Information about the upcoming European tour by the highly regarded Beltango Quintet. 19 May Stuttgart (Germany) - Tangoloft 20 May Memmingen (Germany) - Kreuzherrnsaal 22 May Stuttgart (Germany) - Tangoloft 23 May Mannheim (Germany) - Tango Flores 24 May Wasserburg (Germany) - St. George Kirche 25 May Luzern (Switzerland) - Luzern Tango Festival 27 May Bregenz (Austria) - Tangissimo Kesselhaus Beltango Quintet players are: Aleksandar Nikolic (bandoneon/accordion), Ivana Nikolic (piano/vocal), Jovan Bogosavljevic (violin), Bogdan Pejic (el.guitar), Ljubinko Lazic (double bass). Beltango Trilogia Triple CD Pack is available online at the website Beltango. |
Date Change for Roland International V-Accordion Festival, Rome - Italyby Holda Paoletti-Kampl |
![]() The Festival is divided into two steps: National Finals which qualify each national winner to then participate in the 6th Roland V-Accordion International Competition in Rome. The National Finals must take place before 23rd September 2012. The main music requirements are: - any genre of music is allowed - every contestant has to play two different programs. A 10-15 minute program and a 5 minute program - contestants may not use any internal/external audio playback as Wave, MP3, CD, iPOD etc. (as a backing track) and/or external sound modules, MIDI sequencers - the participants may only play V-Accordion, and without singing. The full rules are available as a pdf download: 2012Rol-Rules For further information email your national Roland distributor. |
CNIMA Courses in Auvergne, July and August - Franceby Jacques Mornet |
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CNIMA Courses in Auvergne, July and August - France |
Steve Albini and Tatiana Semichastnaya May Performances - USAby Steven Albini, Roland Corporation U.S. |
![]() Friday, May 18, Nonni's Ristorante, 420 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA. 7:00 p.m. Saturday, May 19, D'Argenzio Winery. 1301 Cleveland Ave. Santa Rosa, CA. 7:00 p.m. Sunday, May 20, San Francisco Accordion Club, 911 Marina Blvd. South San Francisco. Time: 2:00 p.m. Sunday, May 20, San Rafael Joe's, 931 4th Street San Rafael, CA. Time: 6:00 p.m. Monday, May 21, Accordion Club of the Redwoods, Herman & Sons Hall, 860 Western Avenue, Petaluma, CA. Time: 7:30 p.m For further information email: steven.albini@rolandus.com |
Courses and Master Classes with Frédéric Deschamps - Franceby Frédéric Deschamps |
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Courses and masterclasses during April and May was also the time when the Deschamps Team made two TV shows with Pascal Savard. Two complete programs have been recorded and will be broadcast very soon on LMTV. Picture above, left to right: Gourdy Elsa (France), Grayson Masefield (New Zealand), Dorin grama (Moldavia), Frederic Deschamps, Mr Patis, Pascal Savard, William Fric (Aveyron), Radu Laxgang (Moldavia) and Pietro Adragna (Italy). The next Courses and Master Classes of Frederic Deschamps are set from 2 to 7 July, 9 to 13 July, 15 to 21 July, 23 to 28 July, 30 July to 4 August, 6 to 11 August, 13 to 18 August, 20 to 25 August and 27 August to 01 September. Courses can be broadcast live streaming at your convenience, or held behind closed doors. Information and registration: Frederic Deschamps + 33 6 17 85 38 19 or email: frederic.deschamps@wanadoo.fr |
Ian Watson Upcoming Performances - UK, France, Germanyby Romano Viazzani |
![]() May 16 - London Sinfonietta Premiere of 'The Revenge of Miguel Cotto' by Phillip Venables at 'The Village Underground' (Liverpool Street, London). Accordion with 3 Violins, 3 Trombones, 2 Percussion and 2 male voices. May 20 - Aurora Orchestra Performance in Norfolk and Norwich Festival of Ian Watson arrangements of Piazzolla Tangos for Accordion and Orchestra. June 2-7 Bellows and Waves, Devon conductor of the annual accordion orchestra course with 40 players. June 19 Philharmonia Orchestra recording 'Anamorphoses' by J.Schöllhorn for general release. June 20-25 National Theatre several performances as part of the 'Connextions' festival. July 2 Icebreaker, Paris Performance of 'Apollo' by Brian Eno. July 3 Morley Accordion Orchestra conductor of the lunchtime concert at Morley College, London. July 7 Morley Accordion Orchestra conductor of the evening concert at Lost Theatre, Stockwell. July 11-13 London Symphony Orchestra, Aix (Provence) Performance of 'L'Horloge' by Dutilleux with soprano Rene Fleming conducted by Gergiev July 14 John Wilson Orchestra, BBC Proms, Albert Hall semi staged version of 'My Fair Lady' July 15 London Symphony Orchestra, Barbican repeat of the Aix programme with Rene Fleming. August 18 Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, BBC Proms performance of 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' world premiere by Simon Bainbridge. August 27 John Wilson Orchestra, BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall 'The Broadway Sound' Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin August 29 English National Opera Performances of 'Julietta' by Martinu - performances throughout September and October. September 13/14 Aurora Orchestra, Bremen, Germany repeat performance of 20 May Piazzolla program. |
Servane Le Moller and Manus Noble Recital, Oxford - UKby Karen Ingram |
![]() Servane Le Moller was born in Luxemburg in 1985 and started to play the accordion at the age of 14 in the class of Maurizio Spiridigliozzi. From 2005 to 2010 she studied at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen (Germany) under Mie Miki, and in September 2010 she was given a scholarship to do her Masters at the Royal Academy of Music with Owen Murray. Whilst performing in London and throughout the UK, Servane regularly performs in Luxemburg in solo, ensemble and orchestral concerts, in particular with the Luxembourg Sinfonietta. In 2010 Servane performed the world premiere of the piece ‘Partita’ from Maurizio Spiridigliozzi, in the Philarmonie du Luxembourg. An award winning accordionist, Servane is always looking for ways to innovate with unusual combinations of instruments and also others artists, not necessarily musicians. Manus Noble is praised as one of the most exciting and innovative of today’s young guitarists and this concert program by these two young talents will include works by Bach, Piazzolla, Giuliani, Barrios, Takahashi, Britten, Gubaidulina, Ginastera and more. |
CD Reviews |
CD REVIEW - The Jewel of the Accordion by Pearl Fawcett-Adriano, Reviewed by Rob Howardby Rob Howard |
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New and Updated Sites |
eTracks MP3 Albums by Sergey Osokin Now Online – Internationalby Sergey Osokin |
![]() ![]() New Albums this week are: 2 albums by Sergey Osokin Eternal Returning IL Cinema Per Sempre |
eTracks MP3 Album by Oivind Farmen Now Online – Internationalby Oivind Farmen |
![]() New Album this week is: 1 album by Oivind Farmen Scandinavian Accordion Favourites |
eTracks MP3 Albums by Shmelkov Semion Now Online – Internationalby Shmelkov Semion |
![]() New Album this week is: 1 album by Shmelkov Semion L'amour |
Accordions TV |
Web TV "Deschamps Channel", Sunday 27th May, 19.30 hoursby Frédéric Deschamps |
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The Monthly Edition Web TV Show of the Deschamps Channel presented by Frédéric Deschamps and Grayson Masefield. Technical Director: Mike Rossi. SUNDAY 27th of MAY - 19.30 Central Europe Time here on this internet page. Celebration of the 1,000,000 Minutes views in 111 countries. Live Interviews and Performances from all over the world. This Month Guests : 19.30 - 1st Part : Classical Yuri Medianik (Russia), Classical Buskers (UK) 20.40 - 2nd Part : World Music, Frank Marocco tribute (USA), Jackson Rodriguez (Brasil), Ernesto Calderon (Chile), Andres Navarro (Chile), Bayan Mix (Russia), Mike Vigneau (France). 22.30 - 3rd Part : Kings of Diato, La Morgia and Antonmario Pasquale (Italy) Michael Rettig (Germany), Ivano de Simone (Italy) 23.00 - PAOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU ... New on "Deschamps Channel" Future Accordionists The WORST PLAYERS of the Month (... or EVER !!!!!!) Rock and POP ... more or less ... (Mostly less :-) Movies Themes (Hope you will recognize) 23.30 PM - Conclusion With appearences of the Partners of "Deschamps Channel" Accordéon et Accordéonistes (France) - Philippe Krumm Hanuri (Finland) - Kimmo Mattila Akkordeon Magazin & mAO (Germany) - Thomas Eickhoff |
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