This report is courtesy of www.coupemondiale.org written by Kevin Friedrich
CNFA Coupe Mondiale organizer Frederic Deschamps (pictured
right) welcomed more than 700 people to the Salle des Capucins
in Pontalier for the Opening Concert of the 57th Coupe Mondiale.
Welcome speeches were given by the Mayor of Pontarlier Mr.
Patrick Genre (left) and the CIA President Kevin Friedrich
(center).
The concert opened with a superb performance by The "K"
Trio who were making their European debut concert tour.
The "K" Trio (Mary Kasprzyk Tokarski, Julie Kasprzyk
Cardona and Walter Kasprzyk) performed nationwide in competitions
and concerts as youngsters. As young adults, life moved
them to different areas of the United States however after
25 years apart, they all relocated to Connecticut again,
and soon after began performing as The "K" Trio.
Both
Julie and Mary represented the USA in previous Coupe Mondiale
Competitions. Julie represented the United States in Holland
(1967-3rd place), England (1968-2nd place) and New York
City (1969-4th place) and Mary represented the United States
in the CIA Coupe Mondiale in Belgium (1971) and France (1973).
Walter captured the Connecticut State Championship Title
in 1966, 1967 and 1968, and went on to be a contender for
the United States Championship many times thereafter.
The "K" Trio delighted the Pontarlier audience with
their program of light classics and were called back for
an encore. The capacity audience were shown why The "K"
Trio has been described as three world-class musicians with
the technical precision of the Juilliard String Quartet
and the universal appeal of the Boston Pops. In
addition to their concert in France at the Coupe Mondiale
and addition European concerts in Switzerland and Germany,
The 'K' Trio has toured extensively throughout the United
States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
To
finish the first part of the concert, Alexander Poeluev
of Russia, a student at the Gnessin Institute in Moscow,
performed a classical program including the popular Don
Rhapsody composed by his teacher, Mr. Viatcheslav Semionov.
Alexander was the grand winner of the 2002 CIA Coupe Mondiale
World Accordion Championships hosted by the Danske Harmonikaspilleres
Landsforbund (DHL) in Copenhagen, Denmark. Alexander became
the first contestant to ever win two categories in the same
year - the "Coupe Mondiale World Accordion Championships"
and "International Competition for Piano Accordion".
Renowned for his superb control and musical style, Alexander has
been invited for concert tours by many CIA member nations
including the Australian Accordion Teachers Association
(AATA), the New Zealand Accordion Association (NZAA) the
Danske Harmonikaspilleres Landsforbund (DHL) in Denmark,
and both the American Accordionists' Association (AAA) and
the Accordionists and Teachers Guild, International (ATG)
in the United States prior to this apperance for the Confédération
Nationale Française de L'Accordéon (CNFA)
in Pontarlier.
Opening
the second half of the program were Russian accordionists
Nikolay Sivchuk and Aleksei Peresidly who were placed First
and Second respectively at the 2003 Confederation Internationale
Des Accordeonistes (CIA) 56th Coupe Mondiale World Accordion
Championships hosted by Tibor Rácz - Artistic Director
of the Methodical Centre of Accordion "Marta Szokeová"
in Slovakia and Panna Grigoncza, President of the Hungarian
Accordion Association in Hungary.
Each a master soloist, placing First and Second as fellow contestants
at the Coupe Mondiale, the two are also very good friends
from childhood, and together, make one of the most outstanding
Bayan duos of today!
Both students of Viatcheslav Semionov at the Gnessin Institute
in Moscow, the two were born in Surgut, Siberia. Friends
and duo partners from childhood, the two have grown to form
a duo so tight, that it can be easily seen that the two,
while having different personalities, 'think' together.
Paying close attention to the control of their sound, the two are
exceptionally artistic and musical. Combined with their
superb technique and sometimes mischievous nature, the two
form an exciting world class duo.
Their
broad range of repertoire allow them to showcase the beautiful
tonal qualities inherent in the broad dynamic range of the
instrument, their sometimes light hearted nature as well
as their expert control, technical virtuosity and musicality.
The duo were asked back to the stage for several encores.
To conclude the Opening concert, France's own Jérôme
Richard (left) took the stage. Jérôme is undoubtedly
one of the most talented virtuoso entertainers of the new
Millennium.
A
talented performer in both Virtuoso and Classical styles,
it the Virtuoso style that keeps Jérôme in
demand performing around the world. Jérôme
(in addition to Alexander Poeluev) is the only other double
CIA competition winner (Coupe Mondiale and Virtuoso Entertainment
in separate years). His performance highlighted his flawless
and effortless technical ability with his popular and appealing
program.
After
several solo numbers, Jérôme was joined by
guitarist Jeff Rossi featuring his "Jazzy Duo".
The "Jazzy Duo" have been invited to appear at
next years (2005) ATG festival in the United States.
The Grand Opening Gala Concert concluded with a reception
given by the city officials for the visiting Delegates,
artists, jury and guests from around
the world.
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