Video 1: “String of Garlands” By Guy Klucevsek

Bachtopus is excited to release their fourth commission from their 2020 Composers Commissioning Fund, “String of Garlands,” which was originally written by composer and accordionist Guy Klucevsek for accordion orchestra and then arranged for Bachtopus. This composition was written in memory of Anne Garland for her husband David and son Kenji. With a recording catalog spanning four decades, Guy Klucevsek remains one of the most accomplished and respected accordionists in the world. Visuals by Robert Duncan. The Bachtopus Accordion Ensemble’s 2020 Composer Commissioning Fund is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). Contributors:

Video 2: “Hope Dies Last”

Guy shares, “I recorded this work-in-progress solo version 2 years ago. At Roulette, it will be performed in its now-completed form, as a duo for violin and accordion. (in memory of Ann Snitow). This is a piece I have been working on, compositionally, for over a month now, editing, tweaking, polishing, nipping, tucking. This is a work-in-progress performance video–by that I mean I will play it better, given time. But I want to share it with you in its current state for the time being, because I feel I need to. Hopefully, I will someday have a chance to make a more polished and professional-quality video of it, at which time I will post that instead, or in addition. Ann Snitow, along with her partner, Daniel Goode, was one of the first friends I made in New York, in the late 70s/early 80s, when I moved here. She was a dear, dear soul, and delightful person, and is sorely missed.”

Roulette Presents Guy Klucevsek 75th Birthday Celebration on May 14, 2022 at 8:PM. “Music of Guy Klucevsek” will be performed by The Bachtopus Accordion Ensemble (Robert Duncan, Peter Flint, Mayumi Miyaoka, Jeanne Velonis) Alan Bern: accordion and piano; Will Holshouser: accordion; Nathan Koci, accordion; Jenny Lin, piano; Todd Reynolds, violin. The event will feature solos, duos and ensemble pieces written between 1980 and 2021, including five premieres. Roulette is located on 509 Atlantic Ave. Brooklyn, NY.

Having retired from the concert stage in 2019, Klucevsek is proud to hand over the performances in this program of solos, duets and quartets to a distinguished cast of musicians he has worked with over many years and, in some cases, decades: Todd Reynolds, violin, Jenny Lin, piano, and accordionists the Bachtopus ensemble (Robert Duncan, Peter Flint, Mayumi Miyaoka, Jeanne Velonis), Alan Bern (doubling piano), Will Holshouser and Nathan Koci.  The pieces Klucevsek has selected represent 40+ years of his composing, from “Oscillation No. 2 for piano” (1980), through “The Grass”, “It Is Blue (Ain’t Nothin’ But a Polka)” (1986), “Flying Vegetables of the Apocalypse” (1988), “Eleven Large Lobsters Loose in the Lobby “(1991) and “Bar Talk” (1998) (in memory of Béla Bartók), up to pieces from the 21st century, including

Seven World Premieres:
“Seesaw Song”, Will Holshouser, accordion
“Feel the Bern”, Alan Bern, accordion
“String of Garlands” and “Slango”, Bachtopus accordion ensemble
“Winter is an Etching”, Jenny Lin, piano, and Todd Reynolds, violin
“A Certain Slant of Light”, Jenny Lin, piano
“Hope Dies Last”, Todd Reynolds, violin and Nathan Koci, accordion

Guy Klucevsek is one of the world’s most versatile and highly-respected accordionists. He has performed and/or recorded with Laurie Anderson, Bang On a Can, Brave Combo, Anthony Braxton, Anthony Coleman, Dave Douglas, Bill Frisell, Rahim al Haj, Robin Holcomb, Kepa Junkera, the Kronos Quartet, Natalie Merchant, Present Music, Relâche, Zeitgeist, and John Zorn.

He is the recipient of a 2010 United States Artists Collins Fellowship, an unrestricted $50,000 award given annually to “America’s finest artists.” He has premiered over 50 solo accordion pieces, including his own, as well as those he has commissioned from Mary Ellen Childs, William Duckworth, Fred Frith, Aaron Jay Kernis, Jerome Kitzke, Stephen Montague, Somei Satoh, Lois V Vierk, and John Zorn.

His performances include the Ten Days on the Island Festival (Tasmania), the Adelaide Festival (Australia), the Berlin Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center, Spoleto Festival/USA, BAM Next Wave Festival, Cotati Accordion Festival, San Antonio International Accordion Festival, Vienna International Accordion Festival, and the children’s television show “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

His 1987 project, Polka From the Fringe, a collection of commissioned polkas by Fred Frith, Elliott Sharp, Bobby Previte, Carl Finch, et. al., toured around the world and was released on 2 cds on the eva label, and were named “best recordings 1992” on WNYC-FM’s “New Sounds” program. In 1996, he founded Accordion Tribe, an international ensemble of composer/accordionists Otto Lechner (Austria), Maria Kalanemi (Finland), Lars Hollmer (Sweden), Bratko Bibic (Slovenia) and himself. They toured internationally from 1996-2009, are the subjects of Stefan Schwietert’s award-winning documentary film, Accordion Tribe: Music Travels, and released 3 cds on the Intuition (Germany) label.

His music theatre scores include “Chinoiserie” and “Obon” with Ping Chong and Company, “Hard Coal,” with the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, “Industrious Angels” for Laurie McCants, “Cirque Lili” for French circus artist Jérôme Thomas, which has been performed over 250 times world wide, always with live music, and his own piece, “Squeeze Play,” an evening of collaborations with Dan Hurlin, David Dorfman and Dan Froot, Claire Porter, and Mary Ellen Childs. He and Dan Hurlin were awarded, jointly, a BESSIE for, “The Heart of the Andes,” which has played the Henson International Puppetry Festival, The Barbican Center in London, and the Ten Days on the Island Festival, Tasmania.

Klucevsek has released over 20 recordings as soloist/leader on Tzadik, Winter & Winter, innova, Starkland, Review, Intuition, CRI, and XI. Stereo Review cited his Starkland recording, Transylvanian Software, as a recording of special merit” (1995). He can also be heard on John Williams’s orchestral scores for the Steven Spielberg films, “The Terminal,” “Munich,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” and “The Adventures of Tin-Tin,” and on A. R. Rahman’s score for “People Like Us.”

Tickets: $20 Online/ $25 Door. Doors open at 7:PM.
* A live stream will be available free of charge at 8:PM on the day of the performance and archived for future viewing.
* Please support Roulette this season. Donate.

For further information: gklucevsek@mac.com