Accordions4Peace
Guy Klucevsek
I began playing accordion in the 1950s, when I was five or six, and began composing as a teenager. Thus it’s probably more than a coincidence that my compositions are primarily for accordion—either alone or in multiples, or in combination with other instruments.
String of Garlands (2020) was commissioned by Bachtopus, an accordion ensemble based in the New York City area. I imagined the sound of a mega-accordion—massive both in terms of pitch and dynamic extremes—and tried to create that sound through the medium of an accordion ensemble. This recording features accordionists Robert Duncan, Peter Flint, Mayumi Mayaoki and, on bass accordion, Jeanne Velonis. The video was created by Robert Duncan. The piece is dedicated to David and Kenji Garland, in memory of Ann Garland, a dear friend of mine.
Music and Mobiles (2013) is a video created by Keith LoBue which features his miniature mobiles and for which he commissioned a score from me. The music is for solo accordion, which I performed myself. Because the individual videos are very short, I had to immediately capture and sustain a mood—whether it was wistful, playful, shimmering—and not overly-concern myself with development. Keith LoBue is an amazing visual artist who creates one-of-a-kind jewelry and sculptures, most often using found objects. He has also done the art work for my CDs “Citrus, My Love” and “Song of Remembrance.”
Pauline, Pauline (2017), is dedicated to the memory of my longtime, dear friend, Pauline Oliveros. It is scored for 4 accordions, with several of the players doubling on voice and bass accordion. It consists of six short pieces: 1) Buddha from Another Planet, 2) Shō-zilla!, 3) Dronespeak, 4) Piper’s Lament, 5) The Queen of Kingston, and 6) Pauline Oliveros. I tried to capture many of the elements of Pauline’s work from over the decades: use of drones, voice and accordion, improvisation—from meditative to wild-and-wooly—organic quadraphonics (4 players surrounding the audience), analogue panning (players moving from one stationary location to another while playing or whistling). In the final piece, “Pauline Oliveros,” I used the rhythm of her name to generate the music, which becomes at once a chant and a lament. This video is from the premiere of the piece at Roulette, Brooklyn, New York, March 2017. The performers are Nathan Koci, Will Holshouser, Kamala Sankaram and myself.