| CD Review: Michael Ganian
River 
Michael Ganian, accordion Program: Michael Ganian is the composer for each
of the following selections
Total Time: 32:35
label: SUISA
Review by Joe
Natoli :
Reviewing is a very subjective art and of course for every Siskel there is bound to be an Ebert, for every thumb up, there is bound to be a thumb down. Recently, reviewer John Franceschina shared his thoughts on the Michael Ganian CD, River, for the Classical Free Reed Society. Reference that review here. John's review makes some very good points about this CD and in fact there are some very good redeeming qualities about the performances which I will get into later. However, as much as I respect John Franceschina's opinions about this Michael Ganian offering, I feel a counterpoint is in order to make a few issues known from a different perspective. Michael Ganian (or his CD distributors) have launched a very aggressive campaign to make Mr. Ganian's name known. If one's name is even remotely connected with the word "accordion" on the internet, it seems they received a copy of Ganian's CD. I was fortunate enough to even receive two! A little high pressure, but no harm done yet. However, they seem to take this agressiveness one step further and some words need to be said about the marketing techniques used for this CD. I usually feel that liner notes are inconsequential and ancillary at best compared to the impact of the actual music on the CD, and therefore never give them more than a passing mention. But I found the sound bites on the liner notes particularly embarassing and offensive, and a poor attempt at trying to translate foreign marketing techniques into American culture. The first thing that hits you in the face when you open the CD package and other marketing paraphernalia packaged with it, are very primitive marketing phrases like:
It became immediately apparent to me that this CD was going to take a long-standing negative criticism about accordion players and stretch that envelope even further. You have all probably heard musicians refer to standard bass accordion players as "one-handed" or "right-handed" musicians because of the fact that they frequently do not use their left hand bass on recordings. But the left hand, which typically supplies the harmonic foundation for solo playing, is usually supplemented with other instruments supplying that harmonic base, when the accordionist's left hand is absent. Not so with Michael Ganian however! He chooses to use incessant right-handed accordion runs (with right-hand and left-hand supporting harmonies being completely eliminated), accompanied only by walking bass and percussion, thereby providing no solid harmonic frame of reference for the listener at all. This is a real interesting concept that most unfortunately propagates that "one armed bandit" cliche about all accordionists. The only time Michael has any backup harmonic content on these tracks at all is when he decides to use background strings. In those instances there is some very nice and poignant music going on (for the record these occur on tracks 2, 6, 7, 8, & 11). For example, track #7 The Magnificent One (I guess this refers to himself based on the liner notes), and track #8 Eva are especially beautiful in this regard, but on track #9 Mr. Ganian is off and running again without harmonic backup, without substance, and without deep musical thought. Consequently much of this CD is the musical equivalent to a child whose parents feed him too much sugar, and then runs around the house for an hour without focus or direction. Sadly, this CD would have been an outstanding offering if Mr. Ganian and his combo understood the importance of the harmonic complement on the solo tracks. Michael is a very talented player and his compositions are extremely good and sensitive outside of the harmony issues above. I was very impressed with the last cut on the CD, Verucchio, which is an orchestral re-arrangement of the solo composition on the previous track. The solo version is especially frustrating because it is a slow tune, with one-line mellismatic ramblings and no harmony as usual (except for those 2 eighth-note chords he plays in the middle of the song). However, the orchestral version comes completely alive. And if Michael did the orchestration, I take my hat off to him because it is among the best that I have heard in this genre. Very reminiscent of some of America's best film composers/orchestrators. If only the rest of the solo tracks on this CD had the same depth and sensitivity. Oddly enough, Mr. Ganian gives none of the other musicians credit (neither the combo nor the orchestra) on the CD cover. Only his name appears throughout. Interesting since the ensemble tracks are those that are most worth hearing. Of course he could have done all the walking bass lines himself and had a drum machine as well as a MIDI orchestra in the background, which is always a possibility, but very unlikely (especially on the string and orchestra tracks which sound like live musicians). If you ever do get a chance to listen to River, "the world's biggest selling brilliant music," see if you feel that this truly is "the first gold music for the rest of your life?!?" Michael, my advice is to lose your current marketing geniuses while you are re-working some of your solo compositions.
My Dear Joe, While I am usually impressed with your CD reviews, I was disappointed by your review of River by Michael Ganian, which I thought was grossly unfair. Since when is giving CDs away for free "high pressure marketing?" Would you have been alarmed if an accordion manufacturer sent you a free accordion? I would be very happy if Steinway sent me a free piano! What is the harm if an artist sends out free copies of his CD to accordionists across the world? I think Ganian is very generous to do so. Regarding the poor translations in the liner notes: what's the big deal? Everyone knows how hard it is to translate foreign phrases into English, especially if the translator is not fluent in English. Even Dr. Herbert Scheibenreif of Austria sometimes makes big mistakes when he writes the liner notes for Friedrich Lips' CDs, such as translating Drauen scheint das Mondlicht into Moonlight spurting outdoors! And the exaggerated claims in the liner notes? It's all advertising hype; part of the game of selling CDs. I don't necessarily believe Ganian's claims anymore than I believe the claims made on the commercials I see on TV, or, for that matter, the claims of music critics like yourself! You wrote, "Then of course there is that big 9x14 inch extreme close-up shot of Michael's face that nearly scared the hell out of me when I opened the liner notes." Joe, please don't insult your readers! You exaggerate JUST AS MUCH as Ganian! You're just as guilty as he! Although you admitted that Verucchio was your favorite track on the CD, you neglected to mention that the lead sheet music was printed on the back of that 9x14 foldout. How many other accordionists include sheet music with their CDs? Regarding Mr. Ganian's choice of using only the right hand: the VAST majority of accordionists do that when playing with a jazz combo, even professional accordionists like Art Van Damme, Leon Sash, Myron Floren, etc. I myself do it on ten songs from my Gershwin CD because I prefer the clean sound. The left hand just doesn't have the strength, crispness and projecting qualities that the right hand has. More often than not, a continously pumping left hand only muddies the texture of a small ensemble. That's why the left hand of the stradella accordion is considered "accompaniment;" the right hand plays the solos. When an accordionist has a combo backing him up, he doesn't need to use his left hand; it sounds better without it. You wrote, "[Ganian] chooses to use incessant right-handed accordion runs (with right-hand and left-hand supporting harmonies being completely eliminated), accompanied only by walking bass and percussion, thereby providing no solid harmonic frame of reference for the listener at all." Would you say the same thing about the Bach sonatas for unaccompanied solo instruments such as the flute or violin which also do not (or rarely) play chords? There is no harmony lacking in the Bach nor in the Ganian. The harmony is implied in the melodic line, which includes oodles of arpeggios, which are nothing more than vertical chords spelled horizontally. You wrote, "Oddly enough, Mr. Ganian gives none of the other musicians credit (neither the combo nor the orchestra) on the CD cover. Only his name appears throughout." This is not a crime, and perhaps not even an oversight. Would you criticize Frank Sinatra, Michael Bolton (or even Myron Floren) for not mentioning the names of the accompanying musicians on his CDs? I personally LOVED Ganian's River and I would not mind if he sent me a free copy of every CD he records! His playing is extremely artistic and beautiful; his phrasing expressive and his technique impeccable! I have never been a fan of French musette music until I heard this tasteful CD. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to express my opinions. I respect you greatly and wish you all success in all of your endeavors, especially your wonderful JANPress Publications! Sincerely,
(Henry Doktorski is the founder of The Classical Free-Reed, Inc.)
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