An
Early
Biography
Anthony
Galla-Rini
THE REAL STORY BEHIND
THE "GALLA-RINI TRIBUTE" CD
It was probably about 4 years ago when I mentioned to Galla-Rini that I really like the Accordion Concerto in G Minor, which is on his tape "Collector's Edition." He explained that this selection was just an arrangement for solo and ensemble of the theme and he suggested that I learn the entire Concerto. So I began to learn it. I had already been doing some accordion-cello duets with Heidi King and she also played piano. Galla-Rini suggested that she learn the piano reduction of the orchestration part. After we had worked on the First Movement, she and I flew out to California and had him listen to and advise us. I have family in California that I visit twice a year and this added day trip to see Galla-Rini is very easy to accommodate. He made his suggestions and we went home to work on them. We also began to learn the Second and Third movements. The next Spring we were in California again and once again met with Galla-Rini. He made his comments and suggestions (three hours worth!) and suggested that we record this. So that became the next goal. I think we met with him one of two more times; once in Chicago in 1998 and maybe again that next Spring. From there on we just sent cassettes in the mail, or when I was in California visiting my family I went by his place and we listened to them together. He approved each movement separately. The Second Movement received his blessing first. The Third Movement was the next one completed. The First Movement, which is the most difficult, took the longest. On the First Movement there were isolated sections he wanted re-recorded. We would do this, then there would be another adjustment he wanted to another place, and so we would try to "fix" that. Finally, he heard it the way he wanted it.
BUT during all these re-records of sections (you may remember) my accordion was stolen and I got a new accordion. You may have noticed that there are places in the First Movement where the "sound/tone" is quite noticeably different all of a sudden. These are places where adjustments were made. What Heidi and I don't know is if this difference in sound is a result of the tape used, the engineering, or the accordion. We don't think it has anything to do with the new accordion because other re-records that are dubbed in are not noticeable. We always used the same recording equipment and same building, etc. We could not afford to go to a studio and have professional people work with us on this. We just had a church with pretty good equipment and had the engineering done by a small company who does recordings of church programs, etc, in our area.
Now, back to the story of the CD. Galla-Rini called one day and said something like "I was thinking. The Concerto will fill up only one side of a tape. Maybe you and Heidi should add a few accordion-cello numbers." We agreed. He selected Mozart's Serenade and Panis Angelicus and The Lost Chord. We did these, but this didn't come even close to filling up another side of a tape. So he arranged Berceuse, especially for this recording. Last spring, I played Musetta's Waltz for him one day when I was visiting and getting his suggestions on the latest songs I was learning. He said he would like this on the tape/CD also and promptly arranged a cello part to go with it. With all these songs on "the other side" of a tape, we were still left with about 9 minutes of blank time. I called and told him; he suggested we add Hungarian Dance No. 5. We agreed. He wrote the cello part a day later and mailed it.
Somewhere in the midst of this process, Heidi and I decided it would be nice if the entire project were a tribute to him and his work. I mentioned this to him and he seemed to like the idea so that is why it is called what it is. The project took several years because Heidi and I must fit our music and recording in-between our other full-time jobs.
This short story has become long, but hopefully gives you a picture of what transpired.
Esther Lanting & Heidi King