Stas and Frank Do the Tango

Stas Venglevski and Frank Almond. Photo courtesy of Frankly Music.

Frankly Music returns to the Schwan Concert Hall at Wisconsin Lutheran College on Monday, January 27, for “An Evening with Stas Venglevski and Frank Almond.”

The two musicians have a unique relationship. This concert continues a tradition spanning over 15 years for them, a free-form exploration of the international roots of tango, Eastern European folk songs, and a bit of classical music. Joining them will be cellist Roza Borisova.

Trained from his youth in the Soviet Union as a classical musician, Stas mastered the Bayan, a challenging instrument in the accordion family. The Bayan, covering five octaves, features a complex array of buttons and switches for both hands. It excels in classical repertoire, often sounding like a cathedral pipe organ.

Arriving in Milwaukee in 1992, Stas was exposed for the first time to a broader repertoire, including tango. He is an accordionist, composer, conductor, arranger, entertainer, and teacher with a wide-ranging repertoire that spans classical, contemporary, and ethnic music from around the world. He has toured extensively as a soloist throughout the former Soviet Union, Canada, Europe, and the United States, including performances with Doc Severinsen, Steve Allen, and on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” He also performs with symphony orchestras throughout Europe and the United States. This spring, he will perform at Carnegie Hall in a concert featuring his own compositions.

Borisova is on the faculty of the Lawrence Academy of Music in Appleton. Trained at the prestigious Russian State Academy of Music, she has performed with symphony orchestras worldwide and was a founding member of the Veronica String Quartet.

Almond served as Concertmaster for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for 25 years and continues to tour as a soloist and chamber musician. His Frankly Music series encompasses the best in classical chamber music.

This series with Stas is distinctly different. The program, announced from the stage, may not be set until a few days before the performance. The spontaneity of these concerts originates with Stas, who prepares the arrangements. The scores allow room for improvisation. “Even if it’s classical music, I sometimes go off to do what I feel,” he admits. Expect to hear Venglevski perform a Bach Partita that transforms, perhaps ending with the theme from Doctor Zhivago.

Almond mentioned the challenges of Stas’s arrangements for string players due to the Bayan’s wide range and tonal depth, which opens up many possibilities but requires high virtuosity to keep up. Stas can set the Bayan to emulate the more basic sound of the Bandoneon, a staple in Argentine tango ensembles. Tango music can be challenging for classical musicians.

“A critical element that a lot of classical musicians don’t get is that your sense of drive and time has to be fluid,’ Almond noted. “It’s not hard for me because I grew up with a younger brother who’s a pretty famous drummer, and he was always messing around with time.”

Tango has evolved from a cultural tradition in the cafes and bars of Argentina into an international form popular in many nations, thanks in part to Astor Piazzolla. Born in Argentina, Piazzolla grew up in New York City, where he absorbed jazz and classical music and evolved a hybrid form known as Nuevo Tango. The universal qualities of his works are so attractive that many instrumentalists have arranged his best melodies for their instruments or ensembles.

The concert will feature pieces from a variety of composers, including Piazzolla and Jacob Gade, whose viral film composition “Jealousy” popularized tango, and prolific French composer Richard Galliano. Most importantly, it will be an informal session among old friends, enjoying the music and banter, which is why this format has been part of the Frankly Music series year after year.

The concert begins at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, January 27, at the Schwan Concert Hall, 8815 W. Wisconsin Ave., Wisconsin Lutheran College. Tickets are available online or at the door. Free parking is available in a parking structure west of the hall.

Frankly Music returns to the Schwan Concert Hall on March 24 with “DSCH! A Commemoration,” focusing on the 50th anniversary of the monumental composer Dmitri Shostakovich‘s death. Performers include Frankly Music favorite Toby Appel on viola. The program includes the rarely-heard Trio No. 1 of Shostakovich, along with his riveting, autobiographical String Quartet No. 8.