Frédéric Schlick, well known French jazz accordionist of Strasbourg has died on the 14th December 2006. Biography and discography information in French from his website, courtesy of Accordéon Magazine.
Accordionist Eddie Hession’s first solo CD ‘Under Duress’ crosses the classical/jazz divide with arrangements by two jazz greats, Chick Corea and Bill Evans, works written for him by UK contemporary composers David Gordon – ‘Eddi-Fis Suite’, and Adam Summerhayes – ‘Under Duress Suite’, and ‘Inveirno Portenoa’, a composition by the tango master, Astor Piazzolla. One review states: “The CD takes the listener on a real journey of discovery, fully exploiting the talents of this wonderfully lyrical player”.
Eddie Hession, 2nd place in the 1981 Coupe Mondiale, is one of the leading UK accordionists, performing with the quintet ZUM when not playing as a soloist or a session musician in recording studios. He has played on many major Hollywood movie soundtracks, including ‘Captain Corelli's Mandolin’, ‘Evita’, ‘Shrek’, and ‘Lord of the Rings’, and has played on the albums of stars across the musical spectrum, including Lesley Garret, The Corrs and Ronan Keating.
Sydney-based Scottish accordion entertainer John Macdonald is rounding his busy year off with cabaret appearances on board one of the Princess Cruises ‘Love Boats’, The Pacific Princess. John will be flying to the South Island in New Zealand in December, to join the ship on its two week cruise of New Zealand, returning to Sydney on December 22nd, for Christmas performances.
2006 has seen John Macdonald appearing overseas, as well as performing throughout Australia in cabaret, and presenting his various bigger shows on the New South Wales concert and club circuit.
Accordion tuner, technician and retailer Alfonso Baldoni has passed away at the age of 82. Originally from Castelfidardo in Italy, Alfonso had lived in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin since 1956, where his specialist skills with the internal workings of accordions earned him a good living. Baldoni Accordions’ customers included Frankie Yankovic, Joey Miskulin, Dan Newton, Alison Krauss, CJ Chenier, Betty Jo Simon, Joe Derrane, Steve Meisner and Sheryl Crow.
Baldoni is survived by his wife, Nancy, son Ivo, daughter Annette Pigini, and four grandchildren. A private ceremony was held in Menomonee Falls, and Alfonso Baldoni was buried in Castelfidardo.
The Accordion Enthusiasts’ Calendar for 2007, featuring colour photographs of vintage accordions, has been produced by Caroline Hunt, from Inverness, Scotland.
The 4th international competition for young accordionists takes place in Kragujevac, Serbia, from March 26th to 31st 2007. The rules and full details for this competition are now available.
Maria Merkelo, known as the accordion's ‘Champagne Lady’ at the University of Illinois, performed in two concerts within an hour in two theaters in the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Urbana, on November 16th.
First, there was the 10th Annual Salvatore Martirano Award Concert in the Tryon Festival Theatre. Maria performed her part with the UI New Music Ensemble, conducted by Stephen Taylor, in a demanding piece scored for ten instruments titled ‘Dolmen for a New Albion’, by Nicholas Paul Vines.
Immediately following the performance of the Vines' work, Maria made her way to the Follinger Great Hall next door for a costume change and to prepare for her performance as the only instrumental soloist on that evening's program by the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Steven Larsen. The work was Dominick Argento's ‘Valentino Dances’, a popular Suite from his 1994 opera, ‘The Dream of Valentino’. Maria Merkelo brought to this performance the evocative sensuality that characterizes the tango.
On December 16th, Friedrich Lips performs E. Podgaits ‘Ex-Animo’ for bayan and string quartet with the famous Glinka Quartet: Julia Igonina, Helen Kharitonova, Aleksander Galkovsky and Oleg Smirnov. The concert takes place in the Concert Hall of the Russian Gnessin Music Academy, Moscow, and begins at 7pm.
On the 12th and 14th, Lips performed solo concerts in Moscow, with performances involving with premieres of compositions by A. Cholminov, R. Ledenjov, E. Podgaits and works by V. Zolotariev, Schuman, Schubert, Boccherini, Piazzolla, Chatchaturjan, Gershwin and Strauss.
Accordionist Salvatore Caueruccio performs as follows:-
December 17th at 7 pm: Accademia Musicale ‘F. Cilea’, Castrovillari, with the trio Acoustic Music Ensemble
December 22nd, at 8.30 pm: solo concert at the Accademia Musicale del Vallo di Diano, Teggiano
December 26th, at 7pm: Palazzo del Capo, Cittadella del Capo, with the trio Acoustic Music Ensemble
December 28th, 6.30 pm: Accademia del Vallo di Diano, Teggiano, in a duo with flautist Bernardo Tramontano, and with the Acoustic Music Ensemble
December 30th, 9 pm: Ex-Cinema, Castelluccio Inferiore, with the trio Acoustic Music Ensemble
The duo Accordeon Melancolique - Jean-Pierre Guiran and Cherie de Boer – have announced their concert program to date. At most of these concerts, they will be performing numbers from their new CD, ‘Le Nid Aimé’, which means “the beloved nest”.
December 22nd, at 8.15pm – Christmas show at Santpoort-Noord, near Haarlem
December 26th, at 3pm – Christmas concert at De Vertelschuur, Curl Avenue 3
February 18th, 3pm – concert at De Agnietenkapel
February 25th, 3pm - Rosenstock-Huessy Huis, Hagestraat 10, Haarlem
April 6th, 8pm – concert, with special guest Tjeerd Buwe, at 45 Koedijk, Alkmaar
April 17th, 9pm – concert at the Parool Theater, Amsterdam
May 27th, 1pm to 2.30pm – lunchtime concert at Nicolaas Beetsstraat 48, Enschede
October 14th, 3pm – concert at Waalse kerk (Walloon church), Catharina Straat 83, Breda
October 28th, 3pm to 5pm – concert at the Hippolytus kapel (chapel), Oude Delft 118, Delft
The quintet Los Mareados, featuring and Ian Hill – accordion and bandoneon, and Frances Knight – bandoneon and piano, perform at the National Theatre, London, on December 29th, at 1pm. Los Mareados, founded in 1993, specialise in tangos, milongas and waltzes.
As part of the Xmas spirit, each accordionist may email MusicForAccordion@yahoo.com the piece name and catalog number to receive one eSheet Yehuda Oppenheimer composition free of charge by email. If you appreciate this kind offer and like more than one Yehuda Oppenheimer composition, then place an order too.
Yehuda Oppenheimer updated 2 arrangements of 'Prayer', and ‘Aria’. Samples of the music are available online. The music is in eSheet format, able to be emailed to your computer. Purchase with credit card.
Christmas Music Releases by Yehuda Oppenheimer - Israel. For the Christmas season, Yehuda Oppenheimer is releasing an impressive arrangement of an Aria by J. S. Bach. When this is performed, the music creates an organ-like atmosphere and the arrangement is designed to have the accordion sound with the distinctive style of Bach's choral music. Also for the New Year, Oppenheimer publishs the world famous New Year Hymn, "Auld Lang Syne", a famous hymn sung all over the world at the time of the new year.
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Frédéric Schlick, well known French jazz accordionist of Strasbourg has died on the 14th December 2006. 
Accordionist Eddie Hession’s first solo CD ‘Under Duress’ crosses the classical/jazz divide with arrangements by two jazz greats, Chick Corea and Bill Evans, works written for him by UK contemporary composers David Gordon – ‘Eddi-Fis Suite’, and Adam Summerhayes – ‘Under Duress Suite’, and ‘Inveirno Portenoa’, a composition by the tango master, Astor Piazzolla. One review states: “The CD takes the listener on a real journey of discovery, fully exploiting the talents of this wonderfully lyrical player”.
Sydney-based Scottish accordion entertainer 
2006 has seen 
Accordion tuner, technician and retailer Alfonso Baldoni has passed away at the age of 82. Originally from Castelfidardo in Italy, Alfonso had lived in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin since 1956, where his specialist skills with the internal workings of accordions earned him a good living. Baldoni Accordions’ customers included Frankie Yankovic, Joey Miskulin, Dan Newton, Alison Krauss, CJ Chenier, 
Accordion Enthusiasts’ Calendar, Scotland – UK
Maria Merkelo, known as the accordion's ‘Champagne Lady’ at the University of Illinois, performed in two concerts within an hour in two theaters in the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Urbana, on November 16th.
On December 16th, 
Accordionist Salvatore Caueruccio performs as follows:-
The duo 
The quintet Los Mareados, featuring and Ian Hill – accordion and bandoneon, and Frances Knight – bandoneon and piano, perform at the National Theatre, London, on December 29th, at 1pm. Los Mareados, founded in 1993, specialise in tangos, milongas and waltzes.
