Concertina-Piano duo
There are only a few professionally trained musicians in the
world who specialize in the
concertina. The predominance of amateur players, who
use the instrument mainly in folk music,
and the still existing idea that the
concertina is merely a simple 'toy' instrument, have eventually
resulted in the
loss of the highly developed playing techniques from the19th century.
With the loss of these skills, developed by players like Giulio Regondi, Richard
Manning
Blagrove etc., the original Victorian repertoire became unplayable for
most players. By the
end of the 19th century the existence of the concertina
as a concert instrument came to an end,
only to reemerge at the end of the 20th
century, to reclaim its place in the art music scene.
The concertina-piano duo (Wim Wakker, in the background right and Paul van
der Reijden,
left) is an unique professional duo which performs the19th century
repertoire for this
combination. The use of different instruments from that
period gives a fascinating taste
of the Victorian music scene. The concertinas
used during concerts and lecture/recitals range
from a
Wheatstone built in 1844 tuned in (high
pitch) mean-tone, Wheatstone amboyna 56 key
from 1877, Wheatstone-Boyd built in 1901,
Lachenal amboyna 48 key Edeophone
built in 1923,
to a Lachenal amboyna
baritone with gold keys from around 1925. All instruments are restored
by the
Concertina Connection.
Commissioning and performing new repertoire for the concertina
is one of the duo's main goals.
Convinced of the fact that an instrument should
also be part of the contemporary music scene,
compositions by Alla Borzova,
Keith Amos, Rien Snoeren, Oliver Hunt etc. are a permanent
part of their
repertoire.
Wim Wakker and Paul van der Reijden have given concerts and
lecture/recitals in the Netherlands,
Belgium, Germany, USA as well as live radio
and TV recitals and interviews..
Pianist Paul van der Reijden holds graduate degrees in violin, organ and
piano from the Utrecht
Conservatory of Music, and conducting from the Brabants
Conservatory of Music. Besides his
involvement in this duo, he is also active as
a violinist and conductor. In addition to his
performance activities, he is on
the faculty of the Schools of Music in Bunnik and Woerden
(Netherlands).
Concertinist Wim Wakker studied classical accordion at the Sweelinck
Conservatory of Music
in Amsterdam and the University of Denver, Colorado. He
holds graduate degrees both in music
performance and education. In 1997 he was
the first person to receive a honorary degree in
concertina. As a teacher, he
was a long time member on the faculty of the Schools of Music in
Woerden and
Nieuwegein and taught the Concertina program at the Brabants Conservatory of
Music, which was the only concertina program at college level.
For information regarding concerts, lectures/recitals and
educational programs contact us.
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