Iho

Maria Kalaniemi

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 21, 1997)
• Original Release Date: January 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hannibal
• ASIN: B000000631
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #275,564 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Chromatic accordionist and composer Maria Kalaniemi may be the star of this album because of both her amazing ability to generate sensitivity on an instrument better known for raw power and her skill in writing romantic pieces. But this 1997 CD is also where her ensemble, Aldargaz, finally comes completely into its own. Timo Alakotila's harmonium and grand piano are essential lessons in brilliance. Fiddler Arto Järvela gets some of his best work done when he's with this ensemble. Bassist Tapani Varis and guitarist Olli Varis contribute a wonderful rhythm section that precludes a need for percussion. On Iho, Kalaniemi and arranger Alakotila also show some new ideas, incorporating brass and string sections in both classical and jazz motifs that work remarkably well with the Finnish folk roots of much of the music. This album was a turning point for Kalaniemi, bringing her out of the folk-music world and into a broader new-music context where she rightly belongs. --Louis Gibson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Accordian music for the soul, like you've never heard it., July 11, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Honolulu, Hawaii) - See all my reviews

Maria Kalaniemi must have learned to play the accordian before she learned to talk. Her stylings are unlike any other accordian music you have ever heard, and you will find yourself amazed with both the skill and artistry this Finnish musician applies to an instrument that many people consider quaint or even silly. No one will laugh at these recordings. The music is soulful and eerie, sometimes quite playful, and always compelling. If you like new-age violin music, popular Celtic ensembles, and electronic flutes and harps, then you must add the accordian to your list. Kalaniemi takes the accordian out of the polka circuit and into the imagination. It is accordian music for the soul, like you've never heard it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite albums, April 14, 2005

By	D. Duval (Germantown, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Listening to this album always makes me feel as if I'm escaping with a caravan of gypsies. Whether upbeat or a little melancholy, every song makes me feel free. If you like world music, you should add this, or one of her other albums, to your collection to give it a Norther European flavor.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible writing and playing, March 4, 1999

By A Customer

Don't pay attention to the prior review implying any connection between what this music is and "new age" pablum. This music is living stuff, lively and satisfying. The first song on this album grabs you by the ears and won't let go. There is some contemplative stuff too, but it's much more harmonically interesting than what I'd consider new-age. She's a winner.