Another year of great accordion activity in all parts of the world has passed, and Christmas and the New Year are upon us once again. Please note that the next Accordions Worldwide news will be published on January 19th, and we thank all those who have contributed to our columns during 2006. The team at Accordions Worldwide wish all our many readers, wherever you may be, a very merry Christmas, great happiness and good health for 2007.
Contributed
by Harley
Jones
Director, Accordions Worldwide
This
is the 10th Christmas Anniversary since Accordions Worldwide began
and what an exciting 10 years it has been.
It is a measure of just how fast technology has changed the world,
that when we started, only one Italian factory had email and none
had an internet site. What an enormous change in the world of the
accordion in just 10 years!
Accordions Worldwide is enjoying readership of over 55,000 interested
accordionists per week, a figure that was only a dream 10 years ago
and the numbers continue growing strongly.
Mostly, thank you to all our advertisers, readers and friends for all your encouragement and support over the last 10 years, as without you, it would not be possible. We look forward to providing popular free services for accordionists around the world for the next 10 exciting years.
In the first week of December, accordionist Frédéric
Deschamps, has been filming scenes for ‘Basile’, a
film for the French cinema which involves him participating in his
second passion: horse riding.
Since last year Frédéric has entered several international
riding competitions. In this film he doubled for the hero of the film…where
he had to jump over the cameras, into rivers and ride furiously through
the countryside in the costume of Dartagnan. Details of the release
of ‘Basile’ will be announced when known.
Popular Accordionist and Composer Sivuca Dies at 76, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Severino Dias de Oliveira, the white-maned accordionist, guitarist and composer known as Sivuca, has died of throat cancer at the age of 76.
Rooted in the accordion-driven ‘Forro’ style of Brazil's northeast, Sivuca played with a wide range of musicians around the world, including jazz harmonica star Toots Thielmans and South African singer Miriam Makeba. He was widely credited with arranging her most famous recording, ‘Pata Pata’.
Sivuca died on December 14th at the Sao Francisco Memorial hospital in his home state of Paraiba, and was buried in Joao Pessoa, the state capital, at the Parque Das Acacias cemetery.
Sivuca was born on May 26th 1930, to a farm family in Itabaiana. An albino who had to avoid the sun, he was allowed to spend less time on farm chores and more working on his music.
He began playing accordion at fairs and parties at age nine, and at 15 he began playing on the radio in the northeastern city of Recife. He made his first LP in 1950, which included the hit ‘Adeus Maria Fulo’.
Sivuca later moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he worked in radio and television, and lived in Lisbon and Paris for a number of years before moving in 1964 to New York City, where he played with Makeba, playing guitar, until 1969.
He also worked with Thielmans, Airto Moreira and Hermeto Pascoal and later played with several Scandanavian jazz musicians. Sivuca was married to the composer Gloria Gadelha.
The well-known Italian company Voci Armoniche, manufacturer of reeds for accordions, is now present on the Internet with a new website, unique in its field with detailed contents, information and news.
The
site is mainly directed at accordion manufacturers, but is also of
interest to musicians and accordion enthusiasts. There is general
as well as technical information: the first pages show the origins
of the company, and the tradition of Italian craftsmanship and quality
(Antonelli and Salpa).
Very interesting are the pages dedicated to the wide range of products, the technical charts explain clearly the working process for each type of reeds. A reeds comparison summary chart helps to understand the different types of reeds.
Of great novelty is the page with certificates of origin and quality as well as the production mark, which is, together with the engraved production year, a seal of authenticity.
Martin Lubenov Wins Prix Gus Viseur Award, Vienna – Austria
Vienna-based Bulgarian accordionist Martin Lubenov has won the prestigious French accordion award Prix Gus Viseur, category Jazz/World. The prize-winning ceremony took place on November 13th at the Café de la Danse in Paris.
The award was founded three years ago by the French magazine
‘Accordéon & Accordéonistes’ and is named after the famous musette accordionist and composer Gus Viseur.
Martin
Lubenov’s first concerts of 2007 are:-
January 25th
– Graz, Austria
26th – Verona, Italy
27th – Turin, Italy
February 24th – Istanbul, Turkey
25th – Vienna, Austria
On December 19th 2006, Aidar Gainullin, one of the finest young players,
winner of more than 18 international competitions, among others the
Coupe Mondiale
in London 2001, composer of film music (‘Euphoria’) has
received the government award ‘Young Talent of Russia’,
and became winner of the prize ‘Best of the Best’!
The award ceremony took place in Moscow’s town hall where the
city government of Moscow awarded winners of this high award! Winners
of the prize ‘Best of the Best’ were well-known artistes,
art workers, the best sportsmen, businessmen, politicians, and others.
Veronika Todorova, the 19-year-old Bulgarian accordionist, has entered many major competitions since she took up the accordion in 1993. She now leads the Veronika Todorova Band, which has now made its first CD ‘Rosso’.
The CD includes ‘Tarantella, ‘Quick Silver’, ‘Monsieur Ferrero’, ‘Valse a Margaux’, ‘Blue Rondo a la Turk’, ‘Balkani’, ‘Caramel Auction’, ‘Misty’, ‘Devoiko Mary’, and ‘Libertango’.
With
the participation of the Federal Agency of Culture and Cinematography
of Russia, the Gnessin Academy of Music, and the Friedrich Lips Fund,
the traditional XVIII International Festival ‘Bayan and Bayanists’
took place in the concert hall of the Russian Gnessin Academy of Music
in Moscow from December 13th to 17th.
The
festival has become a world-class event. The idea of creating such
a festival came from Friedrich
Lips (picture right), People’s Artist of Russia, Chairman
of the Bayan and Accordion Department at the Gnessin Academy of Music.
Nowadays the bayan is the most popular musical instrument in Russia, and Moscow’s school is the origin of the latest developments in the art of playing the bayan, the accordion and the diatonic in the world. Outstanding contemporary composers, such as A. Cholminov, S. Gubaidulina, E. Denisov, R. Ledenev, K. Volkov, A. Shurbin, Y. Podgaits, M. Bronner, created a number of significant chamber compositions for the accordion, whose premiere performance, as a rule, was timed to one of the festivals.
The
festival seeks to publicise and develop the Russian bayan and accordion,
support young talented musicians, and revise and improve the performer’s
repertoire. The acknowledged masters and the gifted young people -
winners of prestigious international world competitions - appear on
stage.
XVIII International Festival ‘Bayan and Bayanists’ presented:
• An anniversary concert of Sofia Gubaidulina ‘Under the Sign of the Scorpion’, soloist People’s Artist of Russia, Friedrich Lips, and the ‘Russian Philharmonic Society Orchestra’.
• The winners of international competitions in 2006 (International
Competition of Bayanists and Accordionists in Moscow, ‘Coupe
Mondiale’ (Norway), ‘Trophée
Mondiale’ (Portugal), ‘Grand Prix’ (France),
‘Citta
Di Castelfidardo’ (Italy), Klingenthal
(Germany), ‘Arrasate’ (Spain): M. Vlasova, S. Shmelkov,
S. Kotkov, V. Tchernich, V. Tchol, I. Salakhov, S. Pashkov, E. Kochetov.
• Solo and composers’ concerts of the ‘masters’
of the art of bayan playing: Professor Friedrich Lips, Professor and
composer Viacheslav
Semionov (picture right), and the outstanding Finnish composer
Petri Makkonen
• Gala concert with the characteristic name "On The Stage - Diatonic!’, where popular diatonic players presented their extra-ordinary skills: the trio of ‘Amran’ - Caucases, Vladimir Seznev – Moscow, and Christoph Blatzer - Styrian diatonic, from Austria.
Chamber ensembles and orchestras participated in the concerts of the festival: Glinka-State String Quartet and the Gnessin Orchestra of Russian Folk Instruments. According to tradition (since 1993), ‘Silver Disks’ were conferred on Sofia Gubaidulina, Petri Makkonen, Michail Imchanitsky and Viktor Kusovlev, for merits in the bayan art.
During the festival, a conference, dedicated to the problems of the development of the performing arts on the bayan and the accordion, and also a ‘round table’ – was held. Exhibitions and presentations of musical instruments of chief world producers took place throughout the festival in the foyer of the concert hall.
Vincent L'Hermet Wins ‘Arrasate Hiria’
Competition, Arrasate – Spain
French
accordionist Vincent L'Hermet won 1st Prize at the XIV ‘Arrasate
Hiria’ International Accordion Competition for classical music,
which took place in Arrasate-Mondragón, in the Basque Country,
Northern Spain, from December 6th to 9th. Vincent L'Hermet is from
the CNIMA J.Mornet
music school in France.
On December 22nd, accordionist and organist Jon Hammond will be doing his 6th annual concert inside San Francisco County Jail Number 8, entertaining the women prisoners.
An Accordion Festival, promoted by the association Di Cuori and with the collaboration of the town council of, takes place in Castel Bolognese, in the Province of Ravenna on January 5th and 6th. This competitive festival includes sections for classical and folk music, and has excellent prizes. The President of the Jury is accordionist Daniele Ravaglia.
Julie Best, lead accordionist with the Ronmar Accordion Orchestra from Carlisle, is the guest at Stockport Accordion Club on January 10th, at 8pm. Stockport AC is based at Woodley Methodist Church, Stockport – Junction 25 on the M60.
Accordionist Marco Lo Russo is on tour with Nicholas Piovani’s musical ‘Concha Bonita’ all over Italy from December 2006 until April 2007. He will also teach the accordion at Il Trillo, Florence.
Marco lo Russo’s latest CD ‘Tarabuk
– a dialogue between accordion and double bass’ was recently
released.
During February, Marco Lo Russo will be engaged in a production for the Theatre of the Roman Opera of a play by Kurt Weill, in which he will perform the solo accordion part.
Friedrich
Lips (picture right) will perform Gubaidulina's concert ‘Under
the sign of Scorpio’, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra - V.Gergiev,
conductor, at the Barbican Centre, London on January 14th, at 8pm.
On the following two days, Lips will be busy with a master class at
the Royal Academy of Music in London, which will be dedicated first
of all to the works of Sofia Gubaidulina, who may be present at this
event.
On
the evening of January 15th, a concert of Professor Owen
Murray's class is scheduled, including a performance of ‘Seven
words’ for bayan, violoncello and chamber orchestra. Owen Murray
picture left.
The BBC publicity says: “After many years writing for the accordion and its close relative, the bayan, Sofia Gubaidulina crafted a majestic concerto for the latter, entitled ‘Under the Sign of Scorpio’. Friedrich Lips gave the 40-minute work's premiere in 2003 and shares the scorpion's zodiac sign with the composer, hence the concerto's title if not its character”.
The VAMÖ accordion competition takes place on February 25th in the Waldmüllersentrum, 1100 Vienna, 1100 Wien, Hasengasse 38, statt. Full details are now available.
The new composition by Yehuda OppenheimerPerpetum Mobile is now published. Yehuda writes, "I would like to dedicate this piece to (Accordions Worldwide Europe Manager) Holda Paoletti-Kampl, because she reminds me of a real perpetum mobile, never resting and always busy."
The Chanukka Celebration is under way and one of the most famous Chanukka songs, Maos-Tzur has been arranged in the style of Bach's Choral music by Yehuda Oppenheimer. This arrangement is not difficult yet has the effect of organ style music.
Updated page about the CIA Winter Congress, January 2007, held for the first time ever in the Southern Hemisphere and first time ever in Fiji.
As part of the Xmas spirit, each accordionist may email MusicForAccordion@yahoo.com the piece name and catalog number to receive one eSheet Yehuda Oppenheimer composition free of charge by email. If you appreciate this kind offer and like more than one Yehuda Oppenheimer composition, then place an order too.
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Another year of great accordion activity in all parts of the world has passed, and Christmas and the New Year are upon us once again. Please note that the next Accordions Worldwide news will be published on January 19th, and we thank all those who have contributed to our columns during 2006. The team at Accordions Worldwide wish all our many readers, wherever you may be, a very merry Christmas, great happiness and good health for 2007.
Contributed
by 
This
is the 10th Christmas Anniversary since Accordions Worldwide began
and what an exciting 10 years it has been.
Frédéric Deschamps
Severino Dias de Oliveira, the white-maned accordionist, guitarist and composer known as Sivuca, has died of throat cancer at the age of 76.
Voci Armoniche
Vienna-based Bulgarian accordionist 
Aidar Gainullin Award, Moscow – Russia
Veronika Todorova, the 19-year-old Bulgarian accordionist, has entered many major competitions since she took up the accordion in 1993. She now leads the Veronika Todorova Band, which has now made its first CD ‘Rosso’.
French
accordionist Vincent L'Hermet won 1st Prize at the XIV ‘Arrasate
Hiria’ International Accordion Competition for classical music,
which took place in Arrasate-Mondragón, in the Basque Country,
Northern Spain, from December 6th to 9th. Vincent L'Hermet is from
the 
Jon Hammond
Accordion Festival, Castel Bolognese – Italy
Marco Lo Russo
Friedrich
Lips
On
the evening of January 15th, a concert of Professor 
Iñaki Alberdi
The VAMÖ accordion competition takes place on February 25th in the Waldmüllersentrum, 1100 Vienna, 1100 Wien, Hasengasse 38, statt. Full details are now available.
