The Winner of Primus Ikaalinen 2010 is Pietro Adragna from Italy

 Augustinas Rakauskas, Lithuania, 17 years
Augustinas Rakauskas comes from Lithuania, a country that is culturally very rich and has a unique language and history. The 17-year-old young artist chose the accordion, because it is a universal instrument that can be used to play anything from classical baroque music to jazz, french musette and popular music. He says that the accordion is also a very practical instrument, since it is a portable ”orchestra” . Augustinas won an Idols-competition for young talents in Lithuania this year. This is the first time Augustinas visits Finland but he tells that he knows how to count from one to ten in Finnish!
As a musician Augustinas would like to achieve something that hasn’t been achieved yet in music. First and foremost he hopes to be able to bring happiness to people’s lives with his music.

Competition pieces

1. André Astier: La Tempete
2. J. Fina-Z. de Abreu: Bumble Boogie & Tico-Tico
The first piece that Augustinas plays in Primus Ikaalinen is La Tempete, ”The Storm” by ”the father of french accordion music”, André Astier.  His second piece is Jack Fina´s Bumble Boogie, an adaptation of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee”, which is continued with the old Brasilian song Tico-tico that originates back to 1917 and has become one of the best known hits in the world through a myriad of recordings and films.

Sarah Vonau, France, 21 years

Sarah Vonau (born March 19th,1989) began playing the accordion when she was 7 years old, under the supervision of Gabriel Veit. At the age of 12 she met the French accordion virtuoso Jacques Mornet, and has participated in Mornet’s master classes ever since. Sarah has studied at Strasburg Conservatory. At the moment Sarah prepares herself fulltime for competitions around the world at Jacques Mornet ’s accordion school and finishes her degree. Sarah has won many prizes in international competitions, for example the first prize in the international Klingenthal Accordion Competition in May this year. 

Competition pieces

1. M. Legrand: Les paraplyies de Cherbourg

2. R. Ruggieri: Carnevale

The umbrellas of Cherbourg by Michel Legrand is one of the most famous pieces of film music  in the world. Sarah performs an arrangement by Jevgeni Derbenko that makes use of the many technical possibilities that the accordion provides.

Her second piece is the speedy Carnevale by Renzo Ruggieri, a piece in which the irresistible swinging rhythmic patterns carry the catchy melody.

 Petar Maric, Serbia, 20 years

Petar Maric (born February 28th,1990) has studied classical music at the Belgrade conservatory with Alexandar Nikolic. During the past year he has participated the master classes of Frederic Deschamps around the world. Maric won the first prize at the Klingenthal International Accordion Competition in Germany in 2009 and received the best musician award at Spoleto Spring Festival in Italy in May 2009. Petar also took part in Primus Ikaalinen last year.

Competition pieces

1. Ferrero: Averse

2. J. Brel: Ne me quittes pas

Petar Maric’s first piece is Ne me quitte pas, composed by the most renowned character of French chanson, Jacques Brel. Brel’s theme soon transforms into Serbian Balkango-tango by Maric’s teacher Alexandar Nikolic. The music transports us from France to Serbia, and then the second piece brings us back from the Balkans to France. In the second piece the Serbian folk tune Jedna cura mala (”The Little Farm Girl”) is followed by the French accordion piece Averse (“Shower of Rain”) by Maurice Ferrero.

Haiyu Liu, China, 23 years

Haiyu Liu (born January 5th,1987) comes from Chengdu, a city of 10 million inhabitants and a three thousand year old history. Chengdu, located in western China, in the province of Sichuan, is known as the Panda city of the world. The accordion is a popular instrument in China and Haiyu Liu chose it for its beautiful sound. Liu’s first experience of Finland goes back to when she was a little girl and played a Finnish Polka that her teacher introduced to her.

Competition pieces

1. V. Zubitski: Hommáge a Astor Piazzolla

2. V. Vlasov: Brahms’s Smile

Haiyu Liu performs Vladimir Zubitsky’s Hommage á Astor Piazzolla in the first round. It is an energetic composition that adapts the themes of Piazzolla. In the piece the artist has to produce

rhythmic patterns in many different ways. In the second round Liu plays Brahms’s smile by Viktor Vlasov. This piece is motivated by the familiar theme of the Hungarian Dance number 5 by J. Brahms. Vlasov has adapted a speedy and technically challenging piece for the accordion.

Pietro Adragna, Italy, 21 years

Pietro Adragna comes from Sicily and studies classical accordion at the Luigi Cherubino Conservatory in Florence. He started his studies at the accordion school of Roberto Fuccelli. Pietro Adragna is a phenomenal virtuoso and his lively renderings have delighted both audiences and jurys in many different countries. He has visited Finland once before. Pietro Adragna has studied variété music under the instruction of Frederic Deschamps in France. He also studies the piano, composition and conducting. Besides having a career as an accordionist, he also wants to become a conductor.

Competition pieces

1. Luciano Fancelli: After you’ve gone

2. trad. Dark eyes (arr. Pino di Modugno, Carrara, P. Adragna)

Madina Tsaloeva, Russia, North Ossetia, 23 years

Madina Tsaloeva (born July 6th,1986) comes from Beslan, North Ossetia in the Caucasus. She is very proud of her roots and tells how the nature, culture and history of North Ossetia make a strong impression on all who visit the region. Madina plays the Ossetian accordion, an instrument that is very popular in her home region. It is an instrument that is meant to be played by women. Madina started her accordion studies following the old tradition according to which a woman is as good a bride as her accordion playing skills. Madina has continued playing the accordion, because she loves to play. Finland has been a “fairyland” for Madina when she was a child, because of Santa Claus and reindeer. Now she says that her childhood dream comes true when she has the opportunity to visit Finland. At the moment Madina studies in Moscow. She plays the Caucasian piano accordion, which differs from the European accordion both in sound and in the way it looks.

Competition pieces

1.  T. Kuliev: Lezcinka

2.  trad. Ossetien Fantasy

The pieces Madina plays come from North Ossetia. Her first piece Lezcinka is adapted from a Caucasian folk tune theme. The melody and the rhythm have familiar tones and the piece is colored by a shaman-like percussion background. Madina’s second piece is Ossetian Fantasia, a piece that also has themes originating to ancient Caucasian folk music. A beautiful melodic beginning leads little by little to a speedy and fiery ending.

Filipo João Guerreiro, Portugal, 17 years

Filipo João Guerreiro (born December 11th, 1992) comes from Faro in Southern Portugal. His teacher is his father Prof. Hermenegildo Guerreiro. João tells that the accordion was the first instrument he played and he fell in love with it immediately. As a musician his hope is to create a unique style some day and to become a well known artist. Now that he visits Finland for the first time he waits to experience the white nights that he has heard of.

Competition pieces

1. trad. Vira do minho (arr. João Frade)

2. Luis Salinas: Para Troilo y Salgan

Vira do Minho comes from the Minho region in Northern Portugal – Vira is one of the musical styles of Portugal. So, if this was a Finnish song, it could be called the Carelian Polka or the Lappish Tango. However, this arrangement by João Frade is a reckless version of the Vira that does not have much more in common with the original Vira than a familiar theme. Guerreiro’s second piece Para Troilo y Salgan is dedicated to two legendary musicians of the Argentinian tango: Añibal Troilo (1914-1975) was an Argentinian bandoneonist and conductor and his contemporary Horacio Salgan (s. 1916) is a pianist and a conductor. Luis Salinas, the composer of this piece, is an Argentinian quitarist and one of the most important names in South American music, especially modern jazz. This composition is very much in the core of Argentinian music – this time with a Portuguese flavor.

Viivi Maria Saarenkylä, Finland, 17 years