PARIS — His studies prepared him to be a pianist or an orchestra conductor, but Théo Ould remained faithful to his childhood passion: the accordion. “It was the object that attracted me, like a toy. I wanted to grab it and press all the buttons,” he says. Although he later learned that the fascinating instrument on the cover of his mother’s Astor Piazzolla record was, in fact, a bandoneon.
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We meet Ould at Paris’s Gare de l’Est, as he prepares to leave for Thionville, in northeast France, where he teaches. Between concerts, classes and new songs to work on, the 25-year-old now has a busy schedule:“I tend to say yes easily. I always get excited when the phone rings for a new proposal.”
It may be easier to get noticed in the classical world as an accordionist than as a pianist or violinist because there are fewer competitors. But you still need an original project. And Ould’s work is driven by such curiosity, generosity and originality that it is bound to find a wide and diverse audience.
We first discovered him thanks to records, zealous ambassadors of young talents, through an opus titled “Madness” (DiscAuverS). With the members of the Philia Trio, violinist François Pineau-Benois and cellist Lisa Strauss, he brings together Vivaldi, Beethoven, Prokofiev and two contemporary composers, Régis Campo and Arvo Pärt.
More than a program, it is a manifesto. The surprise of hearing Vivaldi and Beethoven with the accordion quickly gives way to enthusiasm, as the interpretation appears convinced, eloquent and sensitive.
Zealous ambassador
Ould also founded the AEolina accordion quartet, with whom he recorded a slightly crazy transcription of Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique.” In October 2023, he released his first solo album, Lanterna Magica, which continues in the same direction and combines Rameau, Mozart and Tchaikovsky with two contemporary composers, Tomas Gubitsch and, once again, the humorous Régis Campo. To find out what all the fuss is about, check out the music video for Pagamania on the web.
I try to stay as I am, not to create a character, and to make music the way I feel it.
“We got up at 4 a.m. so we could film peacefully. We wanted a Wes Anderson setting, so we settled on Mont Valérien. Tiredness creates good energy,” Ould said. The video certainly captured this, and conveys the quirky image of an artist who takes care of his image.
“After COVID-19, everyone needed something happy. And I’m not sure that we play less well and deviate a little from codes and habits. Above all, I try to stay as I am, not to create a character, and to make music the way I feel it.”
Maternal influnece
Behind his casual look, colorful clothes and changing hairstyle, is a hyper-talented, award-winning musician who began playing music at the age of 6. He grew up in Marseille, after spending his early years in La Rochelle. His mother, a literature teacher from a family of winegrowers who produced Cognac and Pineau, listened to a wide variety of music: rock, French chanson and classical. His father, a Mauritanian man who had studied in Egypt, left home very early.
“I don’t have the multicultural profile you might imagine.” An only child, Théo built his cultural universe with his mother, who noticed her son was fascinated by Amadeus, the Milos Forman film.
I never perceived the accordion as outdated. Rather, it inspired sympathy.
“I must have seen it for the first time when I was 3, and between the ages of 3 and 10, I must have watched it 150 times,” Théo remembers. She then enrolled him in an accordion class at the Marseille conservatory.
“Contrary to what one might believe, I never perceived the instrument as outdated. Rather, it inspired sympathy, with reference to the bal-musette and the musicians who accompanied famous French singers. But more generally, the public does not know the accordion — or the accordion family, I should say. Just like the guitar, the instrument varies by style. I couldn’t play 95% of my repertoire on [the famous French accordionist] Yvette Horner’s instrument.”
Prodigy on a path to excellence
Ould has never regretted his choice of instrument, but he admits that as a teenager he resented seeing his friends play Beethoven and Chopin, while he had to do with a narrower range. That’s why he took up piano, conducting and analysis, in order to grasp the full scope of music.
“That gave me a more precise and detailed overview of each work, an understanding of its structure and form,” Ould explains. Conducting, which he learned from Roland Hayrabedian, (the “really great”) founder and conductor of the excellent Musicatreize ensemble, involves “managing authority, while working with musicians of different generations.”
The young prodigy then pursued the path of excellence, entering the Paris Conservatory at the age of 16, with dreams of discovery filling his head. He met many new people and gradually opened up new avenues for his accordion, thanks in particular to composers.
“I’m starting to get to know several of them, with whom I have a good relationship. I sometimes approach them to place an order, and some call me and suggest works. Then all we have to do is find a festival or a foundation to finance the production,” he says.
No limits
Ould’s recording and concert programs are conceived with the same taste for sharing and variety, and include everything from Rameau and Bach to electronic pieces. They also reflect the eclecticism of a young musician of his time who “really listens to everything” and is “a fan of vinyl records.” He has just bought himself a turntable and listens to many recordings, past and present, often on the recommendation of friends.
He will continue to share his passion and make others discover the classical repertoire through a folk instrument will continue this fall with a monthly online presentation (probably original and funny) of a famous work.
An avid walker and lover of cinema and theater, Ould is not short of ideas, but he’s not out to make a name for himself by any means.
Piazzolla also played with limits.
“I’m not interested in being the first to record all Mozart’s piano sonatas on accordion. There will be a Piazzolla record because he was the one who led me to this instrument. It will be a mix of solo pieces and pieces with a string quintet,” he says, noting that “Piazzolla also played with limits.”
“His music, which was essentially popular, was aimed at a music-loving public. In fact, he came to France to study with the great Nadia Boulanger, who trained so many famous musicians, from Copland to Quincy Jones. I’ll continue with a mix of acts, but I’m not ruling out solo albums.”
Ould doesn’t regret leaving the piano and the orchestra (for good?) and focusing on the accordion, whose “creative spirit, freedom” he appreciates and even embraces, constantly pushing the limits of musical genre and style, and forcing himself to “to invent everything. ”
