By Nancy Plum

To many, the accordion represents a festive dance instrument a family member might bring to a gathering. Princeton University Concerts showed a different side of the familiar instrument last week with a recital by visionary musician Théo Ould. Like other performers of his generation who have taken instruments and forms from other genres and incorporated them into the classical world, Ould has introduced audiences to the full virtuosic and sonic capabilities of the accordion through all types of music, including the traditional masterworks.

Believed to have been invented in Germany, the accordion became very popular in Europe and Russia in the 19th century. As Ould well proved in last Wednesday’s Performances Up Close event at Richardson Auditorium, the technical demands of the accordion may long have been underestimated. In a program ranging from Bach to contemporary works by Princeton University student composers, Ould showed the audience what the instrument can really do.

Performances Up Close is a Princeton University Concerts initiative seating audience members alongside the performers to create an intimate and fan-friendly experience. The two hundred or so listeners onstage with Ould obtained a birds-eye view of the accordion’s mechanisms and sound, as well as Ould’s dexterity and obvious passion for his chosen instrument. Opening the evening with Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Toccata” from Partita No. 6 in E minor for keyboard, Ould used his own transcription of the piece to demonstrate the accordion’s ability to capture Baroque clarity and counterpoint while producing an ethereal soundscape in the fantasia passages. Ould well brought out multiple voices in the fugue portion of the work, with both hands gliding across the instrument’s buttons on the side of the bellows.

Ould’s program was heavily influenced by the tango tradition, especially the music of Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla. Composing throughout much of the 20th century, Piazzolla fused classical forms and elements of jazz into his works, inventing a nuevo tango type of music. Ould performed several Piazzolla selections, showing the composer’s advanced chromaticism and driving tango rhythms. Pedro y Pedro was originally composed for the bandoneon, a concertina-like instrument on which Piazzolla excelled. Ould’s version of this piece for accordion was not unlike Bach’s “Toccata” in its improvisatory character and embellishments. Ould effectively used hesitation within phrases for dramatic effect while executing quick-moving fingering and varied dynamic effects.

Ould explored the music of several composers who, like Piazzolla, were inspired by the folk and dance music of their home countries, including Hungarian Béla Bartók. Ould played several “Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm” from Bartók’s Mikrokosmos, showing phenomenal strength by sustaining notes with two fingers while rapidly playing with two other fingers of the same hand. Ould also created a shaking vibrato effect with the accordion to augment the continuous movement of Bartók’s music. Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos began chordally, soon launching into a rapid agitated rhythm. Ould showed both a particularly quick left hand and flexibility in the passages requiring considerable stretch between fingers.

Ould’s performance at Richardson was in partnership with the Princeton Sound Kitchen, a collaborative ensemble comprised of graduate students in Princeton’s composition program. As part of this collaboration, Ould performed two pieces written by graduate student composers. Isaac Santos has described his music as deeply inspired by nature and everyday existence and has had a number of works presented by solo instrumentalists and ensembles nationwide. Currently a composition Ph.D. candidate, Santos believes music is an “intensely communicative medium.” Ould played Santos’ one-movement ablaze, which used the full melodic range of the accordion within a suspenseful palette. Santos’ music also called for unusual effects from the instrument, as well as varied dynamic ranges, all well emphasized by Ould.

Santos was joined in representing Princeton composers by Francisco del Pino, an Argentine composer and guitarist, as well as Ph.D. candidate. Like Piazzolla, del Francisco has drawn from classical and popular genres to create new works. Tres instantáneas (Three snapshots), which del Francisco composed under Ould’s tutelage, was minimalistic at times, with steady rhythms and a shimmer requiring very even air from the bellows of the accordion.

Ould’s residency at Princeton University included a Live Music Meditation and a second Performances Up Close recital. Combined with his in-depth coaching of graduate composition students, Ould’s time on campus made a significant impact on a wide range of individuals.