Dr. William Schimmel received special mention in The New York Times for his performance in Marie Galante by Kurt Weill. Anthony Thomasinni of The New York Times singled out Dr. Schimmel as the “nimble accordionist” along with the stylish performances of the other fourteen musicians. This is the first time since 1934 in Paris, that the piece (basically a play with music) has been performed in its entirety.

The performances took place on November 13, 15 and 16 at the Florence Gould Theatre at the French Alliance in New York. Dr. Schimmel is no stranger to the music of Kurt Weill, having performed and recorded all of the music of Weill that includes accordion. He also has conducted two Weill masterpieces on Broadway as far back as the Seventies: Three Penny Opera starring Raul Julia and Happy End starring Meryl Streep.

Also, William Schimmel has a series of new recordings that he appears on that were released this year, or are pending release in early 2009. They are: Latvian Drinking songs (Laila Salins), Pinsk and Blue (Alla Borzova), Lauren Kennedy (cabaret), Gay Marshall (Piaf Songs), Ljova and the Kontraband, Weatherwatch (with Dr. Mark Birnbaum), Highway (solo) and Portrait in Seven Shades (Ted Nash). Also, Dr. Schimmel has announced that his yearly Masterclass and Concert Series, The Seminars, will take place on July 24, 25 and 26 at the Tenri Cultural Institute of New York. It is moving into its fifteenth year.

The title of the seminars is: Welcome Home Skinny! The event is sponsored by The American Accordionists’ Association.

TO REACH THE INFO ON THE SEMINARS:
www.billschimmel.com – click 2009 seminars