Movie Magic with the ICO

Bernard Hermann   Psycho Suite 
Luis Bacalov           Il Postino 
Jean Claude Petit    Theme from Jean de Florette
John Williams         Theme from Schindler's List
Johnny Greenwood  Suite from There Will be Blood
Nino Rota                Love Them The Godfather
Ennio Morricone     Theme from Cinema Paradiso
Sherman                   I wanna be like you
Henry Mancini        The Lonely Princess and It Had Better Be Tonight
John Williams          Hedwig's Theme
Michel Legrand       Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Encore Carlos Gardel           Encore Por una Cabeza 

The Irish Chamber were at St John's Church Waterford last night with their Magic of the Movies tour as guests of Symphony Club of Waterford. They were joined by accordionist Dermot Dunne who was reunited with his Far Flung Trio accomplices, Katherine Hunka and Malachy Robinson . This was music to sit back and wallow in  and the ICO played the many dreamy wistful melodies with unabashed enthusiasm. Opening with  music from Psycho, it was remarkable that the  audience reacted with smiles and chuckles to Hermann's bleak jagged score designed to evoke shock and horror.The accordion and pianissimo don't often appear in the same sentence but Dunne drew this most  deliquescent of dynamics  from his instrument in the acoustic of the church space . Versatility was a keynote of the evening and players added variety with a bit of singing and strumming their violins, ukulele style. While you'd have to admire the can-do attitude of the players, the larky element of a Jungle Book number with Malachy Robinson on vocals had a cabaret feel to it and didn't quite suit the spartan, ecclesiastical atmosphere of the venue.

There was a good enough turnout of 200 or so. Conspicuous by their absence was any student element from either second or third level  courses.  A pity because this was repertoire that had universal appeal. Touring to Monkstown and Sligo this weekend.

The Irish Chamber Orchestra return to Waterford in the Autumn when they step into the breach left by the Irish Baroque Orchestra who have pulled out of their scheduled date. We are lucky to have them visit twice this season. I had a chat with CEO Gerry Keenan who tells me that the orchestra had a wonderful reception at their German concerts in Wurzberg and Cologne earlier this season



The next SCOW concert features the Irish Symphonic Wind Orchestra and the Irish Youth Wind Ensemble, Sunday 11th September 2016, with guest conductors Johan De Meij and Ronan O Reilly.

Globe trotting Accordion and Mandolin duo stop off in Waterford

Siderova and Avital taking less travelled instrumental paths



 I was chatting to Miks Zarins, this week, the maitre d' at the Theatre Royal Café who hails from Latvia (Do pop in and sample the amazing beetroot and goats cheese quiche. ) . He tells me that you cannot get a ticket for love nor money when Ksenija Sidorova plays in Riga. Ms Sidorova plays the piano accordion. She comes to Waterford  on Thursday with mandolin player Avi Avital as part of a Music Network tour.  Even   non musicians will be aware that the accordion has not always enjoyed much of the limelight in the classical music world or indeed the traditional music world. In a recent documentary on the piper, Tomás O Canainn, I was surprised to learn that the esteemed academic had played the piano accordion until persuaded to take up the 'more suitable' uilleann pipes by Sean O Riada.

Oen Murray

One of my favourite classical performers is accordionist Dermot Dunne who came to prominence as an RTE Musician of the Future in 1996 and who has since done much to advance the status of the accordion in Ireland. Dunne went all the way to Russia to study and I assumed that Ms Sidorova also came through a Russian system. I was surprised to learn that she came to the Royal Academy in London. where she studied with Owen Murray who set up the first accordion dept in a Bristish conservatoire in 1986 .

Dermot Dunne

Though still in her twenties, Sidorova has been been blazing a trail with her accordion around the world and collaborating with the biggest stars in the classical music firmament. I enjoyed this interview with Ms Sidorova where she has interesting observations on the buttons versus key question.











http://www.strumentiemusica.comT/en/highlights/ksenija-sidorova-in-conversation-with-romano-viazzani-1st-part/


She comes to Ireland with another musician who has explored the possibilities of an unusual instrument. Avi Avital is a Grammy award winnning mandolin player who. is intent on pushing the instrument beyond it's genteel salon repertoire. Last month, for instance he was in the Wigmore Hall with counter tenor Andreas Scholl. You can read an interview with him from the Austin Chronicle here   Here is a snippet 

AC: Why do you love playing the mandolin?

'AA: I definitely find an advantage of playing a unique instrument because I always had a creative freedom with the projects I choose to do. Young pianists and violinists take the great violinists and pianists into consideration and probably choose the same repertoire for the same recital halls and competitions. For mandolin, we don't have too many masterpieces, so the excitement of my path is invented. Every project opens another door. I feel that everything is possible'.

Curiously Avital's first teacher in Israel was a Russian violinist. There was no job for a violin teacher  but there was a pile of unused mandolins and as the fingering and strings are the same, it was a manageable leap, Much of the programme is transcriptions of well known violin reperoire. I am looking forward to hear a new take on familiar pieces. 

Composer, Ian Wilson will attend the Waterford concert and introduce his piece. They will give a workshop in the afternoon at 4.00pm  for WIT students and observers are welcome.

There  won't be too many opportunities to hear either of these two unusual instruments solo let alone in tandem and by such highly rated players . This is the final recital in the 73rd season of Waterford-Music chamber series. Come early and take in the masterclass and two excellent  exhibitions nearby, Connections is  at Greyfriars Gallery and Kate Q-P Black and white images of urban New York are at Central Hall.

Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances
de Falla: 6 Canzoni Popolari Spagnole
Bach: Partita BWV 1004 in D minor / Ciaccona
Kreisler: Prelude and Allegro
Wilson: Spilliaert's Beach
Schnittke: Revis Fairytale
Piazzolla: Histoire du Tango
Budashkin: Concerto in A minor

Full details of Music Network Tour Ksenija Sidorova and Avi Avital 

More details on Waterford Music recital series celebrating 73 seasons!www.waterford-music.org