No Accordion Jokes, Please

Dutch Classical Accordion Orchestra to Perform in Pittsburgh

For Immediate Release:

Alphen Opus 2, the highly acclaimed classical accordion ensemble from Holland, will perform in Pittsburgh during their year 2000 United States tour. The Pittsburgh tour schedule is as follows:

  • Thursday April 27 afternoon:
    Live on-air interview and performance with producer Paul Johnston at the WQED-FM radio studios.

  • Thursday April 27, 8:30 PM:
    Full-length concert at First Unitarian Church in Shadyside, which will be recorded by WQED-FM radio for broadcast on their weekly show: PNC Performance In Pittsburgh.

  • Friday, April 28 afternoon:
    Recording session at Anything Audio recording studios to record compositions by Pittsburgh composer and concert accordionist, Henry Doktorski, for a future CD release.

  • Saturday April 29, 12 PM noon:
    Half-hour concert at the Duquesne University School of Music recital hall, sponsored by the City Music Center.

  • Sunday, April 30, 4.00 p.m:
    Concert: Miller Library Complex in Hamden, Connecticut, (benefit for the Yale Center for Children with Special Health Care Needs)

    • About the Classical Accordion

    The accordion, beginning with its invention in Vienna in 1829, was originally considered a folk instrument, but since the late nineteenth century it has been more and more frequently used in classical music. This is especially true in Europe and Russia, where the instrument has been taught at the conservatory level since the 1920s and 30s. Many European and Russian classical composers have written for the instrument, including Tchaikovsky, Hindemith, Weill, Berg, Prokofiev and Milhaud.

    In the United States, where the accordion still carries a folk music connotation for most people, many American composers have nevertheless written original music for the instrument, such as Charles Ives, Virgil Thomson, George Antheil, Lukas Foss, Alan Hovhaness, Henry Cowell, Paul Creston, William Grant Still and Lorin Maazel.

    About Alphen Opus 2

    The Alphen Opus 2 accordion orchestra was founded in August 1995 and is directed by the Russian-born conductor Sergé Latychev, presently living in Heiloo, Netherlands. Although Alphen Opus 2 specializes in original works for accordion orchestra by contemporary Dutch composers, they also perform music by other composers, as well as transcriptions, as can be seen from their repertoire list below. Their first tour was to Moscow in 1996; in 1998 the orchestra was invited to take part in the Sata Häme Soi accordion festival in Ikaalinen, Finland. Their first CD was recorded on June 5th 1998 in the Concerthall of the city of Haarlem in The Netherlands.

    The conductor, Sergé Latychev studied bajan (button accordion) and orchestral and choral management at the Gnessin Music Academy in Moscow. After his graduation in 1982 (class of V. Dolgopolov) he worked as a concertmaster in the same Gnessin Music Academy. Later he conducted the "Harmonika" ensemble and the Orenburgs Cossacks Choir. For several years Sergé has worked in the Netherlands as an accordion teacher and conductor. Besides Alphen Opus 2, he conducts several choirs like the Don Kozakken koor from Rijswijk and the Noordhollandse Byzantijns mannenkoor from Zaandam.

    If you love classical music with a twist, you will love Alphen Opus 2.

    The First Unitarian Church is located at the corner of Ellsworth and Morewood Avenues in Shadyside. For directions call (412) 621-8008. The Duquesne University School of Music is located at 600 Forbes Avenue, downtown. For directions call (412) 396-6080.

    Please visit the website of Alphen Opus 2 at: http://www.geocities.com/alphen_opus2.

    For a wealth of information regarding the accordion in classical music, visit The Classical Free-Reed, Inc. website.

    For specific information regarding the Pittsburgh concerts, contact:

  • Hanny van Holland, manager of Alphen Opus 2 at alphen_opus2@yahoo.com
  • Henry Doktorski, tour manager, at free-reed@trfn.clpgh.org

    • Repertoire

    Composer and title:

    Izaak Albeniz: Asturias
    Leroy Anderson Sergé Latychev (arr.): Fiddle-Faddle
    Leroy Anderson: Serenata
    Bernard van Beurden: Medieval dances
    Léon Boellmann Rob Zieverink (arr.): Suite Gothique
    Jo van den Booren: Cirkels
    Wim Brandse: IJsselland
    Hans Brehme arr. Rudolf Würthner: Ballett-Suite
    Renato Bui: Modern Suite
    Renato Bui (arr.): Henri Mancini in Concert
    Gerie Daanen: Très composiones pora Orquesta de Acordeón
    De Barro/Ribbiero Hans Günther Kölz (arr.): Copacabana
    Fritz Dobler: Werziade
    Jörg Draeger (arr.): Rock around the clock
    Henk op 't Ende: Arainn Mhor
    Henk op 't Ende: Collection
    Adolf Götz: Dalmatinische Tänze
    V. Gravilin: Tarantella Anyuta
    Hugo Hermann: Pastorale française
    Ted Huggens: Happy Cyclist
    Jack Kat: Four Moods
    Paul Kühmstedt Rudolf Würthner (arr.): Habanera und Malagueña
    Willi Münch (arr.): Brasilia
    Werner Niehues (arr.): Salut to Sousa
    Astor Piazzolla René te Bogt (arr.): Libertango
    Anton Rubinstein Anatoly Senine (arr.): Russisch en Trepak
    Bruno Ruch: Duke Ellington in Accordion
    Wolfgang Russ-Plötz: Divertimento ritmico
    Hardy Schneiders Renato Bui (arr.): Skottische Skizzen
    Matyas Seiber: Irische Suite
    Lorre Lynn Trytten: A Witch's Capers (Heksencapriolen)
    Nicolai Tschaikin: Konzertrondo
    Louis Vierne: Cortège
    Ad Wammes: Boardwalk
    Jos van der Wulp: Equi
    Jos van der Wulp: 's Zondags niet
    Rudolf Würthner: Variationen für Akkordeon-Orchester

    This site designed and created by Henry Doktorski.

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