Spectacular Classical Accordion Success!

[Walker]

Near the end of October 2024, two winners of the Susan Wadsworth International Auditions were announced... and one of them was a piano accordion player!

Alongside the brilliant Kiron Tellian, a pianist from Austria, was the famous Moldovan accordionist Radu Ratoi as winners of the prestigious event. It is great to see an accordionist capable of stepping up to the plate, next to all the other classical musicians (on every variety of instrument) and being selected as the best of the best. For anyone with a bit of time to sit and enjoy watching a classical concert, here it is from the Gilder Lehrman Hall, New York, where these terrific musicians, on piano and piano accordion respectively, gave their keyboards a pretty serious workout!​

 

[JerryPH]

...Moldovan accordionist Radu Ratoi as winners of the prestigious event. It is great to see an accordionist capable of stepping up to the plate, next to all the other classical musicians (on every variety of instrument) and being selected as the best of the best. For anyone with a bit of time to sit and enjoy watching a classical concert, here it is from the Gilder Lehrman Hall, New York, where these terrific musicians, on piano and piano accordion respectively, gave their keyboards a pretty serious workout!​

The thing that impressed me the most was not that he played like few people on earth, but his generous usage of the Stradella bass system along side the Free Bass... he was moving back and forth effortlessly and taking advantage of the first 2 rows for dramatically deep bass when needed. He definitely had the Russian system of the deep notes close to his knees and high pitched notes close to his chin.

Beginning accordionists... please take note of the MANY runs of scales (standard and chromatic) and arpeggios... THAT is why they are so important to practice, you will run in to those near EVERY song you play!

Very musical, so much fun to listen... and he has no fear to use those pitched piccolo reeds. He pulled everything possible from that accordion and then some, incouding the 2 different kinds of bellows shakes... Franz Liszt and his other song composers had to be smiling from above after hearing this.

Hmmm... he mentions his accordion is 18kg, thats near 40 POUNDS. OK, no Pigini for me... lol

Edit: Wanted to add, it was somehow SO APPROPRIATE that the event ended with him playing, and on top of that, playing a song that was both amazingly technical... but FUN for him and the audience... an amazing vid, thanks Stewart!!!!

 

[Caps]

Seriously impressive!

 

[Ffingers]

As someone of recent acquaintance with the accordion I was overwhelmed and brought close to tears with Radu Raoi's performances.
His absolute intimacy with the instrument and with the music is a thing of wonder.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Walker.

 

[KiwiSqueezer]

Wow!

 

[Tom]

Omg, that’s crazy!!!!! Thanks Stewart.

 

[losthobos]

Joyous sound .... phenomenal playing...great showman...
How come he's not playing one of those Korg thingies people are raving about these days though

 

[Ffingers]

Joyous sound .... phenomenal playing...great showman...
How come he's not playing one of those Korg thingies people are raving about these days though

Is it possible to produce the nuances that this artist creates with deliciously delicate bellows movements on an electronic thingie?

 

[Tom]

Is it possible to produce the nuances that this artist creates with deliciously delicate bellows movements on an electronic thingie?

No. And it’s not possible to produce the delicious soundscapes of say, Michael Bridge, on Radu’s acoustic thingie. It’s all good.

 

[Walker]

Is it possible to produce the nuances that this artist creates with deliciously delicate bellows movements on an electronic thingie?

@Ffingers, Here's another little tune from the maestro for you...

 

[Tom]

@Ffingers, Here's another little tune from the maestro for you...

Wow, thanks Stewart! Not my cup of tipple, but I sure admire his skill and talent. I would love to see him play something a little more “lowbrow”.

 

[Walker]

Wow, thanks Stewart! Not my cup of tipple, but I sure admire his skill and talent. I would love to see him play something a little more “lowbrow”.

Hmm... not sure I know what 'low brow' music really is, but, who doesn't like a bit of Mussorgsky:

 

[Tom]

This guy is super cool, and I love the Pictures, but it starts off so fast my poor brain can’t keep up.

I mean something an egghead like me could understand. Like that old folk song played by that retired paesano in that back room of the trattoria hidden away on the back road to Vercelli.

But I get it. People rise to their level of ambition and talent. (Or their level of incompetence). I mean, I wouldn’t play 100 choruses of Mary Had a Little Lamb at the gig.

 

[JerryPH]

I wouldn’t play 100 choruses of Mary Had a Little Lamb at the gig.

</ scratches out the 100th repitition from my arrangement>
There. I am safe now.