Alena Bulatetskaya, accordion
Paxton House 12/4/26
Alena Bulatetskaya, accordionI
In association with Live Music Now Scotland
Alena Bulatetskaya from Rostock-on-Don, Russia, has made her home in Scotland since 2018. An Erasmus Exchange brought her to the Royal Scottish Conservatoire for post graduate study, and she joined Live Music Now Scotland in 2020. She comes from a musical family – her grandfather played the balalaika - and her musical education in Russia included many public performances.
Her concert at Paxton House after the launch of the Music at Paxton 2026 programme demonstrates her interest in a delightful mix of genres, and her sense of humour. She’s a relaxed and informative presenter of her repertoire, and develops a good rapport with the audience. An introductory waltz leads to three dances from J.S.Bach, an allemande, a sarabande and a gigue. The sarabande contrasts a melody played on the keyboard notes with the accompaniment, played on the buttons, seeming to slither from harmony to dissonance. Like other recent Scottish accordionist graduates from the Conservatoire, she was taught by Djordje and Andreas Gajic.
The next piece focusses on comedy. It’s Turkish Composer Fazil Say’s ‘Jazz Fantasy on Mozart’, a high speed arrangement of ‘Rondo alla Turca’. The work’s exaggerated stops and starts are played with perfect precision by Alena, keeping a splendid poker face throughout. The good humour continues with Haydn’s Scherzo from a G Major Sonata.
In a change of pace Alena reads us the lyrics before her slow jazzy ‘Deep Purple’, before coming “home” with Phil Cunningham’s ‘Loch Katrine’s Lady’. This is played in an arrangement by Ryan Corbett for concert accordion where the repeated motifs of the first verse are played with more power and complexity as the work goes on. Alena gives an exhilarating performance of this moving work.
The concert ends with her grandmother’s favourite waltz. We return to the windy Borders afternoon, much hearted by Alena Bulatetskaya’s lovely music.
Music at Paxton has two more free family concerts before the main programme in July. On May 3rd the Haver Quartet promise a genre-crossing programme embracing classical, folk and original compositions. Then on 7th June, James McIntyre tenor and Ross Morris guitar present an irresistible mix of classical, traditional folk and feel-good songs. Both concerts are at 3pm.
