Jelena Milojevic
I saw an amazing concert accordionist this evening. She gave a small recital at Sherman Clay in Bellevue. It was a very intimate setting with about fifty people. Her best quality is subtlety. Too many accordionists confuse virtuosity with artistry. There are many purported accordion virtuosi who spend their entire programs playing as fast as they can and doing it in an unmusical manner. That's not artistry; that's button pushing. Jelena is an amazingly graceful and subtle performer who uses her technical prowess in support of her artistry. The technique never overshadowed her incredible range of expression.
The concert was made up of contemporary works for accordion by various European composers. The works were very harmonically advanced: some clung doggedly to the ragged edge of tonality; others were boldly atonal and used gratuitous chromatic tone clusters. Even the most angular pieces were well-thought-out and used very logical motivic development.
As an added surprise, Alexander Sevastian was in attendance. Both he and Jelena are past World Accordion Champions. Sevastian is in town to give a performance on Tuesday which I may decide to attend. I was actually in a room with two World Accordion Champions tonight! That doesn't happen very often.
The concert was made up of contemporary works for accordion by various European composers. The works were very harmonically advanced: some clung doggedly to the ragged edge of tonality; others were boldly atonal and used gratuitous chromatic tone clusters. Even the most angular pieces were well-thought-out and used very logical motivic development.
As an added surprise, Alexander Sevastian was in attendance. Both he and Jelena are past World Accordion Champions. Sevastian is in town to give a performance on Tuesday which I may decide to attend. I was actually in a room with two World Accordion Champions tonight! That doesn't happen very often.