Mike Svoboda's Trio French Kitsch

with

Stefan Hussong - accordion

Stefan Preyer - double bass

Mike Svoboda - tenor and alto trombone, arrangements and composition




concert program


Alexander Guilmant (1837-1911) Morceau symphonique, op. 88 (1898)


Jean-Michel Defaye (*1932)
 Deux Danses (1957)
Erik Satie (1866-1925)
 Avant-dernières pensées (1915)
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) 
Pavane pour une infante défunte (1899)


Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
 Suite from L'Histoire du Soldat (1913)


*********


Claude Debussy (1862 -1918) 
from Children's Corner (1906-08) 
Jimbo's Lullaby / The little Shepherd / Golliwogg's Cakewalk
George Gershwin (1898-1937) / Mike Svoboda
 "An American in Paris (meets Edith Piaf)" (1925/99)


Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) 
Le Grand Tango (1980)

reviews

French Kitsch: an evening in the never-never-land
... Mike Svoboda masters the trick like no one else: delivering profound messages in a friendly atmosphere of smiles and lightheartedness - without becoming ridiculous. ... We heard music which we might now call sweet or sentimental, works by Saint-Sns, Ravel, Debussy, Stravinsky, and other French or francophile masters of composition. Amazing how these "hits" arranged for trombone, accordion, and double bass achieve completely unexpected results. What an instrumental setting! The trombone has the heritage of war more than that of musical providence. And Svoboda handles this instrumental dinosaur with tenderness, virtuosity, power, and humor. It is hard to believe how a person can triumph like that over a brass tube. The accordion is stuck with a folksy jodel. But rarely do you find such a virtuoso like Stefan Hussong, who can play so soulfully and magically that you forget all the prejudices. ... Wolfgang Fernow can produce an unexpected richness of sound out of his double bass - from wild drumming to the whistling harmonics - and he is a versatile scatter and improviser. Kitsch? Musical knick-knacks? A serious, new approach to worn-out melodies? "French Kitsch" with the Mike Svoboda Trio was above all an evening full of ecstatic liberation. - Stadtrundschau Ostfildern

Mike Svoboda celebrates "French Kitsch"
... This concert was proof that the boundaries between serious music and entertainment have long been broken down and that one can combine classical music and stand-up comedy. To prove this point, you need absolute command of the instrument, improvisational talent, spontaneity and a barrel of humor. Mike Svoboda has all of this and more. ... But also Svoboda's musical partners are more than convincing: Hussong's delicate accordion playing combines with the multifaceted trombone solos and contrast wonderfully with the bass lines of Wolfang Fernow. Besides the rearranged classical pieces, the trio impressed with their interpretations of the tango classic from Astor Piazolla.... It is rare, that one experiences such great moments of spontaneity at classical music concerts. It was a pity, that after 90 minutes and two encores the performance was over.... - Südwest Presse

French Kitsch - tabu-free musical indulgement! - Intelligence is not a handicap
... These three instruments fit together as if they were made for each other. On top of that, the sound effects Mike Svoboda and Stefan Hussong get out of their instruments are simply fantastic. ... Mike Svoboda is certainly a charming misfit, who can't hide the fact that his work is fun. ... Such intelligent music was never played in the Tattersaal. ... The trio is at it's best when the music gets jazzy, when they turn away from the notes and Mike Svoboda improvises with his double trombone, when Wolfgang Fernow starts in with his amazing scat passages and Stefan Hussong unpacks his sound effect specialties. Then the three could go on playing until the sun rises. - Saale Zeitung

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