Steven Banks, Saxophone and Hanzhi Wang, Accordion. Photo Courtesy of Candlelight Concert Society.
Now celebrating its 50th Anniversary Season, the Candlelight Concert Society presented the “musically brilliant” Hanzhi Wang on the accordion and the equally talented Steven Banks (read our interview with him here) on the saxophone this past weekend The well-respected pianist Xak Bjerken accompanied Banks when he performed without Wang.
The concert worked so well because it was obvious that not only were these two special talents…but they love their instruments and want to share that emotion with their audience.
To appreciate the virtuosity of these two young musicians you need to throw out all those images of the accordionist for a polka band; memories of your cousin entertaining the family after a year of accordion lesson; or, for those of us who remember, visions of Lawrence Welk. This is not your cousin’sor Welk’s accordion. This is a serious classical instrument masterfully played by Hanzhi Wang. The instrument is almost the same size a Wang, but she is always in control.
If you thought the saxophone was just for rock bands, marching bands, or jazz musicians, Banks not only raises the level of the expectations for his instrument, but takes it to the clouds. Banks’ woodwind could fit into any symphony orchestra. As he reminded us in his interview, the sax was invented years before jazz and was meant to be part of the orchestra.
The two started out playing George Frederic Handel’s “Recorder Sonata in G Minor, HWV 360.” The saxophone took the recorder’s place in the music. The accordion became the pipe organ or harpsichord accompaniment. In keeping with the classical format, the concert also included Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Selections from Goldberg Variations, BWV 988.” In this piece the accordion filled in for the strings and other woodwinds.
Wang created a very Russian sound with “The Season, OP. 37a” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and arranged by Wang. This time the sound was very Russian and something one might hear at a parade in St. Petersburg. However, it was the more modern pieces that I most enjoyed. Martin Lohse is the only Scandinavian to write a season’s piece written for an accordion. Wang presented that wonderful confection as a solo.
The highlight of the second part of the concert was Banks’ own composition, “Come as You Are.” It was dedicated to his family who connected him through their church to the gospel music on which this piece is based. It was quite moving, hearing these familiar songs played so lovingly on the saxophone. Banks was accompanied by Bjerken for that section and for Pedro Iturralde’s “Pequeña Czarda” which had some Spanish flavor but also Eastern European sounds, reminiscent of Klezmer music.
When Wang rejoined Banks, they played a duet of “The Elements” by Mikolaj Majkusiak. When they came to the section that represented air, the musicians actually got the audience to laugh out loud as that section has no notes. Via their respective instruments, the two put out nothing but air sounds, but in tempo. The night ended with Astor Piazzolla’s “Milonga Del Angel.” Their rendition seemed to have a tango beat, though, it is normally not played that way.
The concert worked so well because it was obvious that not only were these two special talents—they both have won First Prize at the Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions—but they love their instruments and want to share that emotion with their audience. They succeeded.
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission.
“Hanzhi Wang, accordion and Steven Banks, saxophone, with Xak Bjerken, piano” was presented on February 25, 2023 by the Candlelight Concert Society at the Smith Theatre in the Horowitz Center, Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044. For more information and tickets for future performances, including their upcoming gala on May 20, 2023, go online. Howard Community College events do not require masks or proof of vaccination.
