
Photo Via Frankly Music - franklymusic.org
Frank Almond
As a lover of classical music and chamber music in particular, I occasionally find it frustrating that one can’t cheer and yell as at rock concerts; hum or let out “Oh yeh” as at a jazz bar. Certainly, the composers and musicians are at least as good as those performing on the Big Stage at a multimillion-dollar concert with tickets going for hundreds of dollars and up. I know of people anxiously waiting to hit a computer key as soon as the tickets go on sale without any idea of the program or playlist.
As they say, “Dig it!” Here’s your chance to attend Frank Almond’s first concert of 2025 where the program will be announced from the stage. He’s joined by the world famous bayan musician Stas Venglevski and Roza Borisova on cello. In case that’s not enough to get you out of your armchair, a few more words about the musicians and sounds.
Almond and I mulled over coffee about this concert and how it’s important for the musicians to be at least as excited as the audience. “I’ve played with Stas and Roza for years. We know each other so we work down to a playlist and can make our final selections a few days before the concert. It gives us a lot of flexibility to add new stuff or even to do something entirely different.”
I asked about the “entirely different” or if there will be a composition making its premier on the program. Almond: “There are a few new pieces, along with several we haven’t played in quite a while.”
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Then I asked him to comment, from a classical musician’s vantage point, about the sounds of the instruments. “The violin and cello are quite familiar to most people. The bayan is probably not. It’s sort of like a high-end accordion with both buttons and keys. Somehow Stas is able to make it sound like practically anything.”
The bayan can create many moods. Venglevski has previewed classical compositions all over the world. Almond says not to be surprised if you here rhythms and sounds of a tango from South America, folk tunes and dances from Moravia or a melancholy lament from Eastern Europe.
For this concert you can expect a fair amount of banter between all the musicians, which is also part of the fun. It’s worth your while to learn more about the musicians as well as to listen to samples of music on the internet. Finally, “Be there or be square!”
Frankly Music will perform 7 p.m. Monday, January 27, at Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Schwan Concert Hall, 8815 W. Wisconsin Ave.
For tickets and more information, visit: franklymusic.org