What a magical evening: The chapel at the forest cemetery was lit up like a gingerbread house, Anna Steinkogler rejoiced right at the beginning of her concert, which she performed with partner Valentin Butt as Duo Oxymoron at the invitation of the Wedel Music Days in this very special place.
The program included beautiful music by various composers and the duo’s own compositions, which performed in their combination of harp and accordion in front of an expectant audience. The band was packed and the musicians were in a great mood. What could possibly go wrong?
But harp and accordion, is that even possible? This question may have been asked by many before. But both artists quickly and convincingly proved that such a combination works musically and that they can do their duo proud.
Imaginatively and even a little magically, Steinkogel conjured up sounds and melodic constructions from his harp and Butt from his button accordion that created emotions and images in the listeners’ minds. They often improvised freely and also chose unconventional methods to coax sounds from their instruments.
There was knocking and hitting, scratching and gentle caressing. Sometimes the harp sounded like a full, deep bass in an orchestra, sometimes the accordion trilled like a whistle or flute, very gently. And in between there was a languishing Tango Nuevo from the pen of Astor Piazzolla, presented in a completely conventional way. It was wonderful.
“Such great music and in this unique setting, so wonderful,” Music Days director Matthias Dworzack was praised several times during the break for his good selection of artists and venue. Even though the seats were closely spaced, the acoustics of the small, wood-paneled room with its full sound easily made up for this.
While Maurice Ravel’s five-part suite “Ma Mère I’Oye” was the focus of the performance in the first half of the concert, the duo “Scented Rushes”‘ own composition, also in five parts, made up the main part of the second half. In their very own sound language, the artists told short episodes from Lewis Carrol’s “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass”. The guests gave the artists a long round of applause.
After more than two hours of enchanting music in a magically illuminated atmosphere, the guests returned to the darkness of the late summer evening. No one will have regretted being there. (Ulrich Bohling/kommunikateam GmbH, September 21, 2024)
