joão barradas
Accordion
João Barradas is one of the most reputable and widely acknowledged European accordionists, working simultaneously between classical music, jazz and improvised music. He has won some of the most prestigious international classical accordion contests of which, among others, the World Accordion Trophy (CMA), which he has won twice, the Coupe Mondiale of Accordion (CIA), the International Castelfidardo Contest and the OkudIstra International Competition, stand out. Despite his young age, João Barradas was the first ever classical accordionist to perform solo recitals in some of the most prestigious concert halls such as WienerKonzerthaus, Tonhalle Maag Zurich, Sage Gasteshead, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian Lisbon and he has played in Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Kolner Philharmonie,Philharmonie Luxembourg, Casa da Música Porto, Bozar Brussels, Philharmonie de Paris, L’Auditori Barcelona, Mupa Budapest, La Monnaie, Stuttgart Opera House ,Sadlers’s Wells Theatre London, Onassis Cultural Center Athens, L’ArsenalMetz, Sava Center Belgrade, Centro Cultural de Belém, Tribeca Performing Arts Center New York. Alongside his activity as a classical musician, Barradas is one of the most active musicians in Jazz accordion nowadays. His first album as leader with the New York label Inner Circle Music, “Directions”, produced by saxophonist Greg Osby, was praised highly by the critics all over the world and made to the restrict Downbeat’s Best Albums of the Year. At the same time, he starts being noticed by some of the top names of American Jazz, such as Joe Lovano, Nicholas Payton, Randy Brecker, Lenny White or Walter Smith III and his name comes up at the most important national and international Jazz festivals and venues.
As an outstanding improviser he has collaborated with various renowned musicians, namely GregOsby, Mark Turner, Peter Evans, Aka Moon, Mike Stern, Rufus Reid,Gil Goldstein, FabrizioCassol, Jacob Sacks, Miles Okasaki, Jerome Jennings, Ben Van Gelder, Francesco Cafiso, Federico Malaman, Stephanne Galland, Fabian Fiorini, Michel Hatzigeorgiou, Wayne Escoffery, Philip Harper, among many others.
João Barradas was nominated ECHO Rising Star2019/2020 by the European Concert Hall Organization and BBC Music magazine nominated the accordionist as one of the current year’s classical music rising stars.
J.S. Bach – Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 – https://youtu.be/qTWPjJfgULk