"MASTER of accordion Ivan Hajek--the world's best accordion player"
jrodg
player ---and had to share the discovery with all accordion players
and lovers. Mr.Hajek has his own site and many other vid's ---I'm
going to look at many more. There is an interesting range of responses
to this one --- in many languages , Polish being one of the more
frequent ones, altho he is performing in Germany. I'd be curious what
others think: Is he indeed the world's greatest? ---He has impressive
public response, and numbers...It'll take me some study and
comparison, which I may work on, before I can compare him objectively
to , say, the amazing Alex Meixner (check out his latest youtube
piece, "Manuela," which Alex apparently composed , to see something
virtually unbelievable in its brilliance ---and again, so far I've
only seen one of Ivan's performances--Having mentioned Alex, tho, I
think I'm already forming an opinion. I'm curious about what others
think, tho: There are of course many good players out there ---Is
there indeed a "greatest" one , in this country or worldwide, and , if
so, based on what criteria? ---or "What top 5 or 10 players are
best?" may be a more manageable question to ask.....
polk...@hotmail.com
Does he know the Sarah Palin Polka. Hi Joe
Mike Surratt
Hmmm....
"the world's best accordion player" -- that would be VERY hard to
determine. The only real way it is defined right now is thru AAA (and
other groups) accordion competitions. That's a very different world
than regular stage performance. Those competitors practice 6-8 hours a
day or more...not much time left for stage shows.
Also, different genres come into play -- Jazz, Gypsy-Jazz, Country/
Western, Cajun, Bayan, Classical, etc and of course other ethnic music
from many many different countries including China. Have you heard
many Irish Accordionists? They are awesome.
In the current polka world, my $$ is on Kevin Solecki, followed by
Alex Meixner and a close 3rd with Steve Meisner who has to constantly
watch out for just about any other Slovenian accordionist on any given
night.
Me? I'm way down there...my nickname is "the club."
So, who else did I miss ???
MS
jrodg
Hey, guys---I don't guess knowing the "SP Polka" is really a
requirement for the "world's greatest accordion player" ---tho if it
were maybe I could claim the title ( haha, despite the fact that I'm a
truely mediocre player) since I'm probably the only acc. player on
earth who's more or less memorized it...
Mike is of course right that there are so many acc. styles in the
world, and great players in each of them, that it's not really
possible to objectively state that any one person is the greatest---
and those who claim that title are either self-designated and/or so
named by their supporters. -- I agree with Mike that K. Solecki is an
excellent player, too--I was also going to mention him---Alex Meixner
awes me particularly because of his additional abilities, such as his
incredible trumpet solos (with or without accordion in hand) ---of
course those really don't related to an objective ranking of his acc.
proficiency ---but as a musician , over-all, he just "blows my mind."
-- Looking back over 50-some years of "polka appreciation" I never
thought I'd see as impressive players (everything considered : first
of all their "huge" instrumental skills + talent as entertainers and
more) in the field as Alex M. and Hank Guzevich: I frequently ask
myself who of the two is the greater trumpet player ---first I think
one, and then the other--but actually I suppose it's just a matter of
individual opinion because each is different in his own awesome way---
As for your playing , Mike , you're too modest here, I'm sure : You do
a lot of good playing, but your achievements greatly transcend
technical proficiency alone since you are constantly composing a great
variety of fine and varied material ---and such composing skill is in
extremely rare supply in the polka field today.
Speaking of great players , when I came across the youtube clip ,
"I. Hajek: World's greatest accordion player" , an adjacent video
also claimed that title and more: "World's Greatest Accordion and
Clarinet Player" , which features Ivo Papazov, a prominent, award-
winning Bulgarian clarinetist /bandleader , and his accordion-playing
colleague, Petar Ralchev. The video, which shows a lengthy interplay
between the two which keeps gaining in intensity and difficulty , is
well worth watching in its entirety for anyone interested in
impressive performance on either instrument --- The duo remind me in
many ways (even visually, to an extent) of Dennis Polisky and Richie
Bernier, who plays accordion with him: Dennis and Richie are of course
also fine players who perform exceptionally impressive solos: It would
be "wild" if they were to feature such a sustained response/duet
sequence as Messrs. Papazov and Ralchev some day.
salomo...@gmail.com
salomo...@gmail.com
NOSOTROS LOS ACORDEONISTAS NOS PREGUNTAMOS ¿CUANTOS TIPOS DE INSTRUMENTOS DE LENGÜETAS TOCA ESTE ACORDEONISTA Y A QUE NIVEL LOS TOCA?
ENTRAR EN: http://www.ranker.com/list/best-accordionists-list-lista-de-los-mejores-acordeonistas/elmundodelacordeonraditv