Michał Gajda - Galliano, Przybylski & Olczak: Accordion Concertos (2022)

The presented album is a nod to lovers of accordion sounds as well as to everyone who enjoys contemporary music in its various formal and expressive manifestations. Three different accordion concertos with orchestra come from the last two decades of the 20th century, each of which presents different formal solutions and sound qualities.

The 1994 Opale Concerto for Accordion and String Orchestra by Richard Galliano is almost a classic of the genre. The piece of this French composer combines neoclassical features with influences of jazz and tango, very characteristic of the accordion repertoire. The name of Bronisław Kazimierz Przybylski’s composition from 1986, Concerto classico for Accordion, String Orchestra and Percussion, refers to the very idea of a concert form. It juxtaposes solo and orchestral episodes while drawing on the elegant neoclassical style. The last piece, Concerto for Accordion and Chamber Orchestra, is distinguished by its unusual one-movement structure, dissonant harmony and expressive texture, which allows to show the possibilities of both the instrument and the virtuoso artist playing it. The latter is Michał Gajda, accordionist, soloist and chamber musician, winner of many awards and distinctions, who gives concerts almost all over the world. He specializes in first performances of accordion works and transcriptions for this instrument