California: sun, beach, and accordion music. At the Cotati accordion Festival Mozart meets Heavy Metal, rewritten and composed for the accordion. This is not just for the Locals.
About the La Plaza Park, Cotati, 70 miles North of San Francisco, blew on this hot weekend with a touch of Woodstock. Many of the visitors who celebrated 50 years ago in the Hippie district of Haight-Ashbury and in the Happening in the Golden Gate Park of San Francisco, the time change in the USA, now live in this area, in Sonoma County.
Long gray hair, some brightly colored, tie-dyed Shirts, and birch stock sandals: The audience, the dance to accordion music such as Polka, Tango, or Heavy Metal, is in the majority, a little older. Only the marijuana cloud is missing, it’s Smoking is strictly prohibited in the Park.
Accordion with German history
Spontaneous Accordion Flash Mob
The accordion festival Cotati, which calls itself the “Woodstock of the accordion world”, celebrated the “Squeeze”, the “ship’s piano” or the “concertina” with all of its possibilities. The annual music festival has become a ‘Happening’ with great appeal. Around 50 percent of visitors come from Sonoma, many of the musical guests have travelled from far and wide.
Also from Germany, such as the multiple award-winning accordion player Matthias Matzke from the baden-württemberg Trossingen. It is the second Time he is. Committed to Tradition: After all, a German, namely, Heinrich Band from Krefeld, Germany, in the middle of the 19th century. Century significantly extended the range of the “concertina” and the result of his name “Bandoneon”. As such, the Instrument was the accordion history.
An Instrument with many possibilities
Between his Songs Matthias Matzke is looking for the conversation with the audience, explains what he’s doing on his Digital accordion and what it has to with the recorded Loops. With his girlfriend, the soprano Leonie Scratch, he presents a piece by Mozart, and the old German folk song “Am Brunnen vor dem Tore”.
Leonie Scratch and Matthias Matzke play Mozart
For Matthias Matzke this musical bridge is a part of the Festival. “It is mostly an older audience, but the organizers allow you to here are always a few musical outliers, fresh Wind bringing in, which I think is terrific.” The accordion needs to be in its entirety to be understood, says Matzke.
Organizer Scott Goree explains, the aim of the festival is the many facets of this instrument is highlighted. “The Festival was founded as a multi-cultural Event, with the intention of the various groups and Genres together. Visitors are encouraged to exchange ideas and experiences and hear how the accordion is used in different cultures.” The Motto for the accordion festival, it’s been there for 28 years, Scott Goree always the same: “Two Days of Peace & Music”.
Peace, Love and Happiness with accordion music
Relaxed atmosphere: On folding chairs, it make the visitor comfortable
That is what makes the Festival even today. Here, different cultures and the music of the many immigrants to meet peacefully to each other. To hear everything from traditional Polka, Jazz, Country, Rock, Heavy Metal and even classical music. Music from Italy, Germany, Finland, Mexico, Poland; limitless the international language of the accordion seems to be.
Around 5000 accordion fans came this weekend in the La Plaza Park in Downtown Cotati, and listened to the straw bales and camping chairs inspires the musicians that picked up on three stages, all out of the accordion, which just went.
Between Mozart and Heavy Metal
With voltage the appearance of the Finn Netta Skog was expected. She plays a Digital accordion almost exclusively to Heavy Metal. As you saw at the beginning of the older audience, she thought she was in the wrong movie. “I have spoken with Matthias and asked: ‘Oh, God, I’m right here?’, and he said: ‘Yes, of course, it’s going to be great’,” says Netta Skog Laugh with a hearty.
And actually, Netta Skog was celebrated with their Heavy Metal Sound as well as Matthias Matzke with Mozart. Organizer Scott Goree did not surprise the. Again and again he hears from people: “I can’t believe how much fun I had here.” Goree then has to smile always and replied, “actually, you Know, what are you saying to me? You tell me you were expecting to have any fun.”