Wayne Knights

Letters to the Editor

NOVAM TO ORGANISE COUPE MONDIALE - THE NETHERLANDS

Contributed by Frans de Bie, Public Relations Officer for NOVAM

NOVAM stands for Dutch Organisation for Accordions and Mouthorgan, and has over 4,500 members. This year NOVAM will organise and host the Coupe Mondiale in Nijmegen.

In preparation for this, the rules of local competitions of the highest level for solo accordionists will be changed, with competitors having to play a Coupe Mondiale programme, for which they will be allowed to perform with music. NOVAM hopes this will enable them to send more candidates to the Coupe Mondiale in the future.

Each year NOVAM organises many contests for accordion orchestras and soloists as well as musical weekends for teenagers. In 1996, there were 22 of these, including International festivals that were held in Enschede, Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Alphen a/d Rijn.

For details on all 1997 events organised by NOVAM, see Future Events.

JUBILEE IN THE SARATOV STATE CONSERVATORY

Contributed by Petr Muzika

During May musicians of Saratov will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Folk Instruments Department at the Saratov State Conservatory.

The Russian Folk Instruments Department was opened in 1957 by teachers S. Benditski and B. Goldfeder. Among the first students were V. Lomako, B. Belousov, V. Dudkin and B. Skvortsov (who later became the first head of the department).

Included in the Jubilee will be a series of concerts, which will be given by teachers and students of Saratov State Conservatory.

PHOEBE LEGERE CD RELEASE DATE JUNE 10th

Contributed by Faithe Deffner, President of the American Accordionists' Association

Chanteuse-accordionist Phoebe Legere has completed a CD due for release in June, under the Random Megaforce label which has international distribution via Warner Bros. John Zazulla of Megaforce Management, has helped Phoebe develop a "new sound." The song which has been picked as the "hit" of the CD has five tracks of accordion and an accordion solo.

EXPOSITION OF IVAN PANITSKI - SARATOV, RUSSIA

Contributed by Petr Muzika and Tatiana Lanchtchikova

On the 21st of March, a museum in Saratov, Russia opened an exposition dedicated to Ivan Panitski (1907 - 1990). He was a bayanist, teacher and composer, who with his own compositions in the 1950's opened a new page in Russian Accordion performance.

The exposition included individual items, prizes and photographs of Panitski. It was opened by a concert, with the performance of many of Panitski's compositions by the teachers of the Conservatory and College of Saratov.

"ARTIGENIALE" EXHIBITION IN THE PRESENCE OF OSCAR LUIGI SCALFARO - ROME, ITALY

Contributed by Giuliana Guerrini and Holda Paoletti-Kampl

"Artigeniale", an exhibition dedicated to craftsmanship, held at the Vittoriano, in Rome, Italy, was officially opened in the presence of the Republic Oscar Luigi Scalfaro in March. This was organised to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Ancona Province Craftsmen Association. Amongst other exhibits there was also the "Dari e Picchietti 1927" accordion owned by the Castelfidardo International Accordion Museum.

SMALL MUSIC SCHOOL IN QINGDAO - CHINA

Contributed by Wu Jie

On 15th April, a music school sponsored by "Qing-Da" Ltd was opened in Qingdao, China. Forty students who are aged between 7 and 18 years old can study musical instruments, singing or dancing.

Classes in this school are held only on Saturdays and Sundays. There are nine accordion students who will be receiving tuition from Mr Zhang Yiyuan, an accordion teacher at Qingdao Infant Normal School.

CD REVIEW: "FISARMONICANDO" BY BIANCAMARIA MANCINI

Contributed by Paolo Picchio

A cheerful surprise from the world of easy listening music. Biancamaria Mancini (a young woman from the Umbria region and winner of several competitions) has recently recorded with Nuova Carisch (of the Wagner Group) a "fresh" and "young" record. It is undoubtedly a CD that carries a certain importance, given the Producer, and contains music from the 1996 award winner "Il Postino" by Bacalov, "Tango della laguna" and "Valzer degli sposi" by Donaggio. (The famous sound track composer who wrote these two pieces for the movie "Milano-Palermo solo andata", which translates to: Milan-Palermo one way trip).

The two pieces by Donaggio plus "Fisarmonicando" by Matulich (which inexplicably gives the title to the record) strictly belong to the "liscio" genre and, especially the latter, seem to be a bit out of place in such a compilation. The rest of the record (with texts by Mancini herself, Ferrari, Ripoli and Tibaldi) is on the other hand a very remarkable succession of pieces that have been arranged in a modern manner and that give the accordion a rather virtuosic soloist role. Amongst these pieces, that have been conceived with such topical 'sonorities', "Boleadora", "Avangarde Bolero" and "Tango dell'anima" particularly stand out. In these pieces rhythm, distorted guitars and electrical riff bass are well integrated with the "flutters" of Biancamaria's accordion.

The two slower, and consequently more lyric pieces- "Il postino" and "Flores del Rio"- seem to almost compensate the many scales and accents; it is through these that a great expressiveness, which is obtained with a full and intense breath of the bellows, substitutes the stereotype of the accordion, known to the listener as an instrument "capable of producing" many notes. A good promotion for the image of an accordion that is no longer for veterans only.

This CD is distributed by: Nuova Carisch - Via M.F. Quintiliano 40, 20138 Milan, Italy

ACCORDION CONCERT IN KIEV,UKRAINE

Contributed by Vladimir Besfamilnov and Tatiana Lanchtchikova

On the 10th of April Daniel Klyaic and Vitali Zayiz gave an accordion performance in the Concert Hall of the Ukraine National Musical Academia, Kiev, Ukraine. They both are post-graduate students of Professor Nikolai Davidov in the Academia.

The concert began with Vitali Zayiz, (winner of the 1996 International Competition in Khmelnitski, Ukraine), playing works by Bach, Scarlatti, Brahms and Zubitski. In the second half, Daniel Klyaic played works by Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Paganini, Schumann and Derbenko.

CD REVIEW - ANGELO DIPIPPO

Contributed by Alan Polivka

Angelo is one of the three best contemporary accordionists I've heard. I believe he ranks right up there along with Joey Miskulin and Frank Marocco, because they all play very cleanly, with precise timing and have the ability to play the fastest of runs.

There are many other accordionists who can also do that, but what sets these three apart is that they can play virtually any type of music and apply the correct stylings that are appropriate for that type of music. Furthermore, they are all masters of playing with expression (great bellows control, phrasing, etc.).

Angelo has several CDs available, including: "Accordion De Paris", "Arthur Street", "It's a Polka Party" and "Accordion Party". Angelo's talents extend well beyond accordion playing. He has also arranged, conducted and produced CD's of non-accordion music.

All accordion CD's by Angelo Dipippo can be purchased from Ernest Deffner Inc.

ACCORDION DUO IN CONCERT - URAL, RUSSIA

Contributed by Tatiana Lanchtchikova

On the 27th of March, "Accordion Duo" from Kurgan (South Ural) gave a concert, which was held in the Concert Hall of the Kurgan Musical College in Russia.

"Accordion Duo" was founded by Larisa Krupchenko (ex-student of Professor Anatoli Trophimov) and Tatiana Azbakova (ex-student of Leonid Bolkovski) in Ekaterinburg, Ural in 1993. They both graduated from Ural State Conservatory as accordion performers and teachers. Since 1993 the Accordion Duo have given more than 100 concerts in various cities of Ural and Siberia.

In 1996, the duo took part in the 6th International Competition for accordions and folk instruments, which was held in Moscow, and they were awarded a diploma for their performance.

Highlights of their programme include popular music for the accordion: works by Frossini, Yutila, Peshkov, Bizov, Bibergan, Belyaev, and Maljigin.

CHILDREN'S ACCORDION ART TROUPE - CHINA

Contributed by Wu Jie

A Children's Accordion Art Troupe will be established in Qingdao, Shandong Province by the end of May. This troupe will be made up of about fifty accordion students aged between 7 and 14, who all study the accordion at Qingdao Children's Palace.

Ms Lu Mei (Art Director) believes the establishment of this troupe will give children more opportunities to play and practise the accordion.

ACCORDIONISTS GATHER FOR IMPROMTU PERFORMANCES - NEW ZEALAND

Contributed by Wayne Knights

Diners at Auckland's Palermo Café were treated to impromptu performances by several of New Zealand's leading accordion entertainers recently when resident musician, Lionel Reekie handed the stage over to Grant "Yogi" Martin and Brenden Healy, all three receiving a great reaction from the crowd.

Grant Martin was performing on the eve of his departure as a featured artist in festivals in China (see last weeks news). An expert in jazz and blues, Yogi strolled among the diners performing in his own inimitable style.

Brenden Healy, featured accordionist with the popular Irish and Celtic band "The Gabriel Hounds" further demonstrated the versatility of the accordion by launching into a series of traditional Irish jigs and reels. This certainly got the audience up and on their feet dancing.

Lionel Reekie, best known for his work with MIDI accordion and vocals, also joined Brenden for a duet. This was the first time that these two had played together since both were members of the Air New Zealand Accordion Orchestra's 1992 tour of Europe.

Several other accordionists were in attendance, including two other ex-members of the Air New Zealand Accordion Orchestra, Wayne Knights and Michael Dennis.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Subject: Please answer my question

Hi I have an accordion (a gift) and I have no idea how to use it. I got the piano keyboard part but what are all the buttons on the left side? Is there a chart on your site you can refer me to? I know some music but cannot figure it out.

Thank you
Tim

We don't have a chart on Accordions Worldwide, as there are many different "systems" or arrangements of these notes. Does it have a piano keyboard? If it does, you probably have a stradella bass system.

We eventually want to have a layout of all the systems on the site, but this could be a while away. The problem is that I don't want to miss one out and offend someone.

I suggest that you find a teacher in your area and get some help from them. The best place to begin is by going to "teachers" on the Accordion Yellow Pages Database on the Index page of Accordions Worldwide.

I hope you find the site of benefit. If you have any further questions, or can't find a teacher in your area, please let me know so I can help you further.

Congratulations on wanting to take up the accordion!

Best wishes,
Wayne Knights

Subject: Rose City Accordion Club

Please note that Karen Adam is no longer the contact for the RCAC as she has moved back to San Antonio Texas.

Please update your yellow pages to show the contact person as Geoff Levear and the address as 7311 SW Laview Drive Portland Oregon 97219. The phone contact in the USA is (503) 452-4517 and Fax (503) 245-7688.

Also as an immediate update please show that the April meeting was held on the 12th April (which was an exception) and there will be no meeting on the 19th April (as you currently show it) Subsequent meetings will be on the third Saturday each month.

You have a great site here, I hope you can keep it going and maintain its outstanding quality.

Geoff Levear
Rose City Accordion Club

Thanks for letting me know. I will get the information updated as soon as possible. The person responsible for the uploading of the database is away this week, but it will be done on Friday 18th April. I hope this does not cause you too much inconvenience in the meantime.

Thanks for the kind words about the site!

Best regards,
Wayne Knights