![]() ![]() This recording stems in part from music written by Klucevsek and performed by many of his friends, but not always on accordion, on a concert in celebration of his 75th birthday. This album is largely representative of his more lyrical writing as heard in releases like, “Citrus, My Love” but Klucevsek is seldom far from parody (in an honorific sense) and both humor and pathos infuse this music in ways that sneak up on the listener. Having, ostensibly, “retired” (at least from performing), we find his creative juices still flowing in these recent compositions. Because of Klucevsek I will never hear the accordion in the same way ever again. The “vernacular” idioms of the accordion had been very familiar to me from my childhood on with my exposure to rituals of some of my Eastern European ancestors (polka bands, Lawrence Welk, Myron Florence, etc). NB: This reviewer is biased, having had a long admiration for this artist. Through years of composing, performing, and collaborating, Klucevsek has taken the accordion to places it never dreamed of going and still manages to do honor to the history and significance of his chosen instrument. Klucevsek is a unique composer/performer who has defined his brand as one of the finest accordion players in new and experimental music. And if you don’t know his work, this is a fine place to start. “Hope Dies Last” consists of several new compositions from this (hardly retired) man. Though he officially retired from performing in 2018, he continues to compose, collaborate, and record. Klucevsek has happily been one of Starkland’s favorite artists. This is, by my count, the fifth Starkland release of Guy Klucevsek’s work.
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