New Horizons
New horizons in accordion literature (2014)
Time and again, Viviane Chassot manages to astonish her listeners: whether she arranges Rameau harpsichord sonatas for her instrument, records airily nimble keyboard sonatas by Haydn or opens a window to a world full of exotic sounds by recording New Music on her third GENUIN CD. She is joined by top-caliber partners – Rafael Rosenfeld (cello), Marcus Weiss (saxophone) and the Vogler Quartet – and the works are electrifying. From Stefan Wirth’s surreal solo piece to Helena Winkelman’s fragile, amorphous metamorphoses: New Horizons beckon!
“She managed to convince Heinz Holliger with her arrangement of the fugue from his piano partita dedicated to Sir András Schiff. An unwieldy piece for an unwieldy instrument – but this is a pleasing performance thanks not just to the astonishing added brightness her playing brings to the polyphony but also in the lyricisms of Stefan Wirth’s Acedia (Inertia) or the appeal of Tides by Helena Winkelman, in which the sounds of the accordion and a string quartet (the Vogler Quartet) blend together astonishingly well.”
“With this CD at the very latest, the Swiss accordionist Viviane Chassot has joined the ranks of those who open up new horizons for the ‘squeezebox’. She does this with remarkable expressiveness and subtle timbral shadings (…). Lo and behold!”
“In the rhythms played with tongue-in-cheek wit, Chassot shines especially thanks to her virtuoso articulation. These will certainly not be the last “New Horizons” she uncovers for the accordion.