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http://accordions.com/news.aspx?d=05-Dec-2008&lang=en&s=440
http://accordions.com/news.aspx?d=05-Dec-2008&lang=en&s=440
05-Dec-2008
30th Anniversary of the Accordion Class at the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki – Finlandby Claudio Jacomucci |
  Italian accordionist Claudio Jacomucci recently participated in a series of celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of the accordion course at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. This very famous educational institution has over the last 30 years made an important contribution to the educational standards of the accordion in Finland and Scandanavia. Accordion Lecturers are Helka Kymäläinen and Matti Rantanen and part-time teachers Mika Väyrynen, Marjut Tynkkynen and Heidi Velamo. A full report: The Sibelius Academy is now one of the largest and most important music institutes in Europe. It is well-known for its teachers, worldwide-known concert performers, for its creative programs and for the commitment to the fostering of Finland's musical culture and cultural heritage. In 1978, some years after Mogens Ellegaard started his accordion course at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen, Matti Rantanen, virtuoso and pioneer of the modern accordion in Finland, arrived at the Sibelius Academy. Since then, he has formed dozens of good musicians who have become famous performers and pedagogues. Matti Rantanen represents a real reference for the evolution of the Finnish accordion school. Thanks to his work, the contemporary accordion literature in Finland has the highest number of new original works for accordion. Almost every composer in Finland has wrote a piece for (or with) accordion. Chamber music and concertos with orchestra are very frequent and very often they involve quite famous musicians, orchestra and conductors. It is also for this reason that Finland is the country where the accordion has one of the best reputations within the classical music world, even-though its folk tradition is still very much alive. The pedagogic research and work is also very advanced. Students begin their studies with teachers who are specialized in pedagogy and they finish their academic career with teaching practice monitored by their pedagogic teachers. There are many young musicians who dedicate their work to the accordion choosing different orientations: folk revival, jazz, rock, contemporary music, musical theatre, to the latest experiments in micro-tonal music. Nowadays, the accordion course has the following teacher’s equipe: Matti Rantanen (main course), Helka Kymalaien, Heidi Velamo, Marjut Tynkkynen, Veli Kujala and Mika Vayrynen. To celebrate the 30th anniversary, the academy organized concerts, lectures and master-classes. From November 5th to 7th in Kallio-Kuninkala’s Villa, placed in a suggestive landscape of wood and lakes (very close to Jean Sibelius’ home), Claudio Jacomucci has held a master class for the students of the academy. Lars Holm was holding a workshop for accordion groups and ensembles. On November 6th, at Stoa Theatre in Helsinki, Claudio Jacomucci and Kathleen Delaney presented their last multimedia work ‘Cool Memories’ (dedicated to the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard) for dancer, accordion, text, video and electronics. Claudio has also presented his recent composition for accordion solo ‘Wonderlands’ and ‘Infernal Circles’. On November 8th, at the Academy, a series of lectures were led by Terhi Romu, who has presented her recent ‘Colour Buttons’ (the accordion version of the famous pedagogic books that teach to play an instrument with the use of colours), followed by Anne-Marie Sillanpaa, Vesa Kupairinen and Hanna Markkula, who spoke about the physiotherapy and musicians, and Pasi Hirvonen with a lecture on Scarlatti’s accordion interpretation. At the concert hall of the Academy, Ari Lehtonen (winner of Arrasate Contest 2007) played a concert with works by Bach, Louie, Nisula, Franck and Gubaidulina. The evening ended with a solo concert by Claudio Jacomucci, playing works by Ravel, Jacomucci and Taktakishvili. On November 9th, some students of the accordion class, presented a concert with transcriptions and arrangements by composers like Ligeti, Saint-Saens, Ciaikovsky, Stravinsky, Kokkonen, Liszt, Rachmaninov, Rimski-Korsakov. The last concert was held by Matti Rantanen and by some of the best students of this current course: Sofia Ahjoniemi, Vincent Lhermet, Terhi Sjoblom, Harri Kuusijarvi, Naiara de la Puente, Jukka Ojala, Janne Valkeajoki, Niko Maenalanen. The program went through important stages of the Finnish accordion repertoire: ‘Sinistro’ (for accordion and guitar) was the first work to be commissioned by Matti Rantanen to Jukka Tiensuu in 1977; students played works by Heininen, Vilagi, Lievonen, including ‘Jeux d’anches’, by Magnus Lindberg. Matti has then ended the concert with a premiere of the work ‘Angel of Dusk’, by the famous composer E. Rautavaara, for accordion, piano, double-bass and percussion. |