Supplication

One last short day for CIMF2026.  I was sad to miss the final MOSSO gigs and a few others this final day, but so be it;  external conflicts.  But I was free for a solo concert of James Crabb, renowned classical accordion player on a chromatic button accordion.  This is a button accordion with its complex, geometric arrangements for each hand.  His touch could be light and flighty, strong and decisive, even making sound effects and accordion breathes.  Something quite unexpected and experimental to my ears, but I don't know the instrument int his context.  The theme was spiritual with a title Supplication to transcendence with water spirit songs from Ross Edwards, religious themes from JS Bach and Piazzola and Sofia Gubaidulina.  Then, unusually, a discussion with CIMF MD Eugene Ughetti on related themes, of Gardeners and architects, religious symbols, dissonance and resolutions, practice, breathe>spirit/divine>religion, his performance history and approach to the instrument and teaching and ritual of performance. And weight of the instrument: 16kg each and he may carry 2, front and back.  Thus some exercise, I guess.  And the mechanicality of it all, with one button stuck on this day!  A fascinating outing with a master of the art.

James Crabb (accordion) performed at ACCC for CIMF.  JC was interviewed by Eugene Ughetti.

CIMF starter

I'm recording a swag of concerts in this year's Canberra International Music Festival.  Just audio, given how many there will be.  And just outside Snow Concert Hall, the central CIMF venue with its own recording systems in place.  And also missing some because they conflict with a few local choral concerts I've been asked to record.  So a busy few days, none-the-less.  First up was a fabulous introduction, Ensemble Liaison, I think essentially out of Melbourne but international in reputation: clarinet, cello and piano.  It's not a combination that I know, but I was entranced.  The theme was popular music in art-music settings.  Thus, Beethoven Trio for Clarinet, cello and piano (apt enough!), the Gassenhauer, with theatrical flair.  Then a take on Kate Ceberano Bedroom eyes, arranged by Nat Bartsch, bowing in one of the pics, a string of popular songs by Manuel de Falla.  But the master work for my ears and emotions was Gershwin Rhapsody in blue.  Fabulously played by the trio with addition of violin and button accordion, arranged from a two-piano arrangement, so very demanding on piano, and immensely popular, lyrical, expressive.  And in this case, tear jerking.  I felt emotional twangs and one person admitted to crying.  I could understand.  As a bottom ender, I was entranced by Svetlana's precise cello of easy rapidity.  David's clarinet was a beauteous tone, and his intros were informative and just easily friendly.  Timothy was doing the work of two pianos, so exceptionally busy, and always on top of the role.  Then Lina joining on violin adding harmony in strings and a very buoyant seating, where she's almost jump out of her seat while expressed the tune.  And James, here with an ever-present chordal part.  Loved this starter, especially the Gershwin which will remain a stunning memory.

Ensemble Liaison comprised David Griffiths (clarinet), SvEtlana Bogosavljevic (cello) and Timothy Young (piano).  EL performed Beethoven, Ceberano and de Falla.  They were joined by Lina Tur Bonet (violin) and James Crabb (button accordion) for Gershwin at Wesley for CIMF2026.

Not so much sublime

That's not a title to demean the Australian Chamber Orchestra because they do a superlative job every time I hear them, but this was a concert of tango, Piazzola+, and that is worthy of adulation, but sublime doesn't seem the word to me.  Seductive, slithery, sinuous, sultry, spirited, yes, but sublime I think I'll keep for other musics.  Not to say I don't love it, I do, and I thought ACO did wonderfully and had a fabulously varied and challenging program within the self-set limits.  (Nice to see themes like this for concerts.  ACO has one coming up soon with Corea and Miles as a theme and with invitees Matt McMahon and Phil Slater).  The invitees for this concert were James Crabb and Stefan Cossomenos.  JC played a "classical accordion", the button accordion with screeds of buttons in place of the piano keyboard, so not strictly a bandoneon, but it sounded great none-the-less.  SC played piano.  Of course, JC had the prime role here, sitting central on stage with the orchestra surrounding him, and he put on a great show.  There's a showman in this muso but also a sense of dynamic play.  And the music was so satisfying and surprisingly varied.  First set was Libertango (inevitable and hugely inviting), then Agri/Carli with a piece that sounded all the world like Nino Rota and Fellini films, then Handel, which seems way out of left field but it worked, playful as it was, then an end with Elena Kats-Chernin Torque, a long tune of some madness written after her car broke down and she wished to understand something of mechanics.  Strange, but impressive.  I got a bit lost in the second set, not having the program to hand and unsure of pieces and movements played attacca.  First up, Gardel then Frank then Villa-Lobos, then a series of Piazzola tunes arranged by JC.  I variously heard more Nino Rota (showing the influences of the time) and a wonderful fugue possibly the second movement of Villa-Lobos, and otherwise some lovely sweet dotted rhythms fully in a jazz sense.  I was amused by the bassist with finger sheathes; I guess he's not a jazzer and he's suddenly discovering what extended jazz-styled pizz can do to soft skin, especially maintianing volume as one bass amongst many.  All fabulous and inviting.  Some odd slithery techniques for classical players, too, from the tango repertoire.  Lovely, sometimes simple,  always tuneful.  Loved it.

 Australian Chamber Orchestra played Llewellyn Hall with a concert of tango and related music.  ACO was led by Richard Tognetti (violin) with soloist James Crabb (classical accordion).

Endless variations

I’ve now been to four concerts at this Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields festival and the differences between them have been immense: a big Bach masterwork, a fine early trio with soprano and cornetto, a grand pipe organ and now a concert of recorder and accordion that ventures from Baroque through Scottish and Spanish and into contemporary Australian commissioned works. Wow. Who’d’a thunk it, doubly so on these instruments, but it worked a treat. The Ortiz and traditional Scottish tunes were more folky and harmonically simpler. Palestrina and Bach and Locke (I was less clear on the Locke) took us back centuries to a music that is obvious for the recorder. But this pair are far more adventurous. I was most taken by two contemporary Australian pieces. Firstly, Andrea Keller’s Where is everybody? It’s a meditation on the universe and our lonely place amongst infinite expansion. Genevieve played bass then sopranino then bass recorders, pairing notes of varying intervals over an accordion soundscape, then melody over shifting chords and mutating arpeggios. Andrea Keller. That’s Melbourne jazz territory; it just shows the wealth of crossovers in contemporary music. Then Damien Barbaler’s Shadow box, two excerpts from a 40-minute piece with video about memories and echoes. I was unsure how much improv was here, but it seemed frequent, especially in James’ response to Genevieve’s leads. In style, Megan thought Stravinsky, I thought Debussy or Ravel. Neither are anywhere near common recorder or accordion territory. So this concert was surprising and a huge eye-opener and a thing of wonder with its fine playing and inclusive pallette. Otherwise, I thought of the family of recorders, wondered at the ornate, Francophilic Loreto chapel the concert was performed in, committed to read up about the range of accordions and their various technical matters (not all have piano keyboards and this one didn’t). This was one fascinating outing.

Genevieve Lacey (recorders) and James Crabb (classical accordion) performed a vast range of musical styles at the Loreto Chapel in Ballarat.