Piazzolla / Galliano: Concertos for Badoneon & Accordion

Gwen Cresens is a Belgian accordionist, bandoneon player, arranger and composer. After studying classical accordion at the Conservatorium of Antwerp, he took masterclasses with several legendary players, amongst them Richard Galliano. He collaborated with both classical artists such as Luciano Pavarotti, Brussels Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Les Ballets C de la B and Zefiro Torna, singers such as Arno, Adamo and Ute Lemper, and also jazz musicians like Brussels Jazz Orchestra and the Metropole Orkest.

This album was recorded in partnership with Belgian classical radio station Klara. Gwen Cresens teams up with The Brussels Philharmonic and Diego Matheuz for a coupling of Piazzolla’s Aconcagua (concierto para bandoneon) and Richard Galliano’s Opale concerto (concerto pour accordéon soliste). Also on the album are compositions by Enrique Granados, Isaac Albeniz and Gwen Cresens and an arrangement of Piazzolla’s famous Oblivion by Gwen Cresens.

Conductor Diego Matheuz is a graduate of the renowned Venezuelan Sistema, and is already widely acknowledged as one of the most promising talents from America.

The Brussels Philharmonic combine 21st century music with the great classics in their programmes, thereby opening up a dialogue between the repertoire of the past and that of the future. Another speciality is playing and recording film music, for which international recognition has been received, for example, in the form of the Oscar for the soundtrack for the film ‘The Artist’. They accompanied Anneleen Lenaerts on her concerto album (Rodrigo – Glière – Jongen, released on Warner Classics in 2014) and will be accompanying both Renaud Capuçon and Anneleen Lenaerts again on their forthcoming recordings.