Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Accordion

Hovhaness Rubaiyat Fairbanks & York

Here with a Loaf of Bread, beneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, an Accordion… and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Today is the 110th birthday of Armenian-American composer Alan Hovhaness.

In theory, Hovhaness, with his marked affection for the East, should have been the ideal composer to set “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.” What is striking is how unconventional his approach turned out to be. Is there a less likely instrument to bring to life the hedonistic fatalism of the medieval Persian master than the accordion?

A recording of the work was issued on a Columbia LP, with Fairbanks as the narrator. To me, Fairbanks’ theatricality is a huge asset, conjuring memories of his turn as Sinbad the Sailor.

Unfortunately, to date, the performance has not been reissued on CD. Presumably the masters languish in the Sony vaults. O that they could be licensed to another label, even to be pressed-on-demand at http://www.arkivmusic.com (which has already made available Kostelanetz’s recording of “Floating World – Ukiyo”). The Bird is on the Wing!

Lo! Someone has posted the audio on YouTube:

Fortunately, there is another fine recording with Michael York, the Seattle Symphony and accordionist Diane Schmidt.

An amusing anecdote: York appeared in Philadelphia a number of years back, in a touring revival of Lerner & Loewe’s “Camelot.” Following one of the performances, I walked around to the stage door, where there was a line of people waiting with memorabilia from “Cabaret” and “Logan’s Run.” Eventually, York emerged and politely signed everything, though you could tell he was a little fatigued after a long evening.

When he got to me, I handed him the CD booklet, and his eyes lit up. “Oh!” he exclaimed. “I would be DELIGHTED to sign this.”

That’s my Michael York story. Here’s a link to York’s mellifluous, though more subdued reading:

Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring
The Winter Garment of Repentance fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To fly – and Lo! the Bird is on the Wing.

Happy birthday, Alan Hovhaness!

PHOTOS (clockwise from left): Doug Fairbanks; Omar Khayyam; the composer and Andre Kostelanetz; and Michael York

March 8, 2021
Cows Love Music? My Vegetarian Journey Begins

Judging from the number of videos posted on YouTube, this is apparently a thing: impromptu recitals for appreciative cows. (The accordion is particularly well represented.)

I try not to eat much meat anyway, but I am perilously close to vegetarianism.

Accordion:

Trombone:

Violin:

Big band (cows love “Tequila”):

February 16, 2019
Accordion Concert Preview on The Classical Network

If the accordion is your thing – or even if you think it’s not – I hope you’ll join me this Wednesday afternoon on The Classical Network for a visit from Robert Young McMahan.

McMahan, who is on the faculty of The College of New Jersey, is one of the foremost authorities on the instrument. He’ll drop by to talk about an upcoming concert that will take place this Saturday at Mayo Concert Hall in the TCNJ Music Building titled “Bellows and Bows: A Potpourri of Chamber Works for Violin, Cello, and Accordion.” The 8:00 program will include works by Lukas Foss, Johan Halvorsen, George Kleinsinger, Edward McQuire, Alberto Acosta Ortega, Mátyás Seiber, Jaroslav Vanĕc̆e, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and McMahan himself.

We’ll also get a taste of the accordion’s striking sonorities when applied to the classical repertoire. Join us for music and a brief conversation this afternoon at 4:00. It will certainly lend variety to a projected Schubert birthday celebration, from 4 to 7 p.m. EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

January 31, 2018
Accordion Advocate Talks Polka & More

When asked if there’s anything about the accordion he wishes the public knew, Robert Young McMahan responds he wishes there was a lot that they didn’t.

“Polka is at the top of my list,” he says. “Lawrence Welk is second.” But he hastens to add that, even though Welk “wasn’t cool,” he helped popularize the instrument. “The arrangements were quite good, and Myron Floren played quite well, for what they were doing.”

He winces at the mention of “Lady of Spain” (“I was hoping you weren’t old enough to know that,” he says), and he hates the term “squeezebox.”

McMahan’s lifelong passion for the accordion is evident in every sentence, as he vacillates between wistfulness at the instrument’s waning popularity among Americans (in part he blames Elvis, who caused youngsters to gravitate to the electric guitar), and hope, in the acknowledgment of up-and-coming talent from Scandinavia, Russia, and the Far East.

A professor of music on the faculty of The College of New Jersey, he is secretary of the American Accordionists’ Association. Each year, the association holds its conference in a different American city. This year, hundreds of accordionists and accordion aficionados will descend on the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village, from July 12 to July 16. Festival registration will begin at 3:00 this afternoon, with exhibits opening at 5.

McMahan, whose wife, Anne, is president of Princeton Friends of Opera, will give a lecture about the accordion and opera, on July 13 at 9 a.m. He will also participate in a gala concert, performing music of Lukas Foss, alongside violinist Emmanuel Borowski and cellist Cecylia Barczak, on July 14 at 7 p.m.

The conference will include music of all genres (presumably even polka), workshops, and scholarship competitions. You can find out more about it in my article in this week’s edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper – PrincetonInfo, out today.

http://www.princetoninfo.com/index.php/component/us1more/?Itemid=6&key=7-12-17mcmahan

July 12, 2017
Accordionist Robert McMahan on WPRB Radio

At 9:00, we’ll take a break from our celebration of the 80th birthday of Vladimir Ashkenazy to welcome accordionist and composer Robert Young McMahan to the studio. McMahan, who is on the faculty of The College of New Jersey, is one of the foremost authorities on his instrument. He is on the governing board of the American Accordionists’ Association, which will hold its annual festival at the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village, from July 12 to July 16. Tune in to learn more, or look online at http://www.ameraccord.com. The AAA has commissioned prominent contemporary composers to write for the accordion for over 65 years. McMahan will share some of his insights and recordings.

Then, at 10:00, we’ll be back to Ashkenazy, with music by Sergei Rachmaninoff and André Previn. Between now and then, we’ll have recordings of Ashkenazy performing works by César Franck, Igor Stravinsky, Boris Blacher and Einojuhani Rautavaara. Plenty of unusual and inspiring music to come until 11 a.m. EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com.

July 6, 2017

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