Here is a link for the festival in Superior, Wisconson, May 6-8. If you can't attend in person, they do an excellent job of live-streaming.
-
-
We're having a little contest, running until 15th May. Please feel free to enter - see the thread in the "I Did That" section of the forum. Don't be shy, have a go!
World Accordion Day and Willard Palmer Festival, May 6-8
- Thread starter Skari
- Start date
- Status
Walker
🪗
Willard Palmer deserves a festival named after him! Well done.
I was up there a couple weeks ago and highly recommend this event! Unfortunately I will be attending my daughter's graduation that weekend and will check the live stream. They have Mr. Palmer's custom built harpsichord from 1975. It's a beauty!
Walker
🪗
Dr. Willard Palmer wrote a great article in April 1949 issue of Accordion World (New York). A small extract is as follows:
"In my recent article for ACCORDION WORLD, "An Open Letter to Accordion Manufacturers," I stated the need for a more adequate bass keyboard. If we can only add two octaves of usable, continuous range to the left hand, in addition to the present set-up, practically all of Bach's organ works will then be possible. This may mean the addition of more bass buttons, will not necessarily mean the end of the standard 120 bass accordion. It might mean that an accordionist who has learned to play well on the 120 bass would then graduate to a still larger instrument, perhaps with 160 basses. Those who are still content to play oom-pah do not have to do this, of course. In any event the 120 bass accordion, one of the finest foundation instruments in existence, would still provide the foundation for all accordionists."
Note that only a few short years later Dr. Palmer together with Titano was instrumental in the development of the quint converter, which added the two extra octaves to stradella bass. Later the 160 bass instrument with a four octave run was developed. "In my recent article for ACCORDION WORLD, "An Open Letter to Accordion Manufacturers," I stated the need for a more adequate bass keyboard. If we can only add two octaves of usable, continuous range to the left hand, in addition to the present set-up, practically all of Bach's organ works will then be possible. This may mean the addition of more bass buttons, will not necessarily mean the end of the standard 120 bass accordion. It might mean that an accordionist who has learned to play well on the 120 bass would then graduate to a still larger instrument, perhaps with 160 basses. Those who are still content to play oom-pah do not have to do this, of course. In any event the 120 bass accordion, one of the finest foundation instruments in existence, would still provide the foundation for all accordionists."
To quote Edward Bulwer-Lytton, talent does what it can; genius does what it must.
- Status
