Concerto for Accordion & Orchestra

DOBRINKA TABAKOVA's works have been successfully presented in the UK, Russia, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, the US, China, Australia, Latvia, Bulgaria, and other countries, in world-renowned venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall. Among the performers are names such as Gidon Kremer, Kristīne Blaumane, Natalie Klein, Miloš Karadaglić, Maxim Rysanov, Janine Jansen, Ksenija Sidorova, to name but a few. They have received numerous prestigious awards and appear in the catalogues of renowned record labels and publishers such as ECM Records, Hyperion, Avie and Schott Music. Dobrinka Tabakova is the author of chamber music for various ensembles, string orchestra, soloist and symphony orchestra, choral and stage music, multimedia, and arrangements. Her first album, String Paths (2013), released by ECM, entered the top 3 of the British classical music charts, was highly praised by critics in BBC Music Magazine, Stereo Magazine, and International Music Reviews, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for chamber music. Her Concerto for cello and strings has been performed all over the world. In her music, Tabakova combines her respect for tradition with contemporary compositional techniques. Tabakova may be using the musical materials of tradition, but through them she has broken new paths (Mark Nowakowski, The Washington Times). Dobrinka Tabakova is a composer of rich, expressive music, whose distinct soundworld has been called “riveting, piercingly beautiful and frequently radiant” (Huffpost Arts & Culture). Composing CONCERTO FOR ACCORDION AND ORCHESTRA was a particular challenge for Dobrinka Tabakova. She shared: The accordion has fascinated me for a very long time: a folk instrument and an integral part of a variety of European and global folk music on the one hand, a black mechanical box with a breathing center on the other. These characteristics inspired me in my student composition The Accordion, which I wrote for an ensemble in which the instrument did not appear at all. “A machine with a soul” was my working title at the time, and this line inspired the new accordion concerto at a crucial time for our humanity. A time when our society is grappling with the concept of technology dictating our cultural diet, when algorithms and artificial intelligence are trying to replace genuine connection and curiosity, while our souls long for affection and understanding.(“Schott Music”). The titles of the three parts of the Concerto figuratively represent: the powerful “breath” of the accordion in the first part – “Burning Ground”; the intimate sound in the second part – “Whispered Memory”; and the folk dance element in the third part – “Ancient Patterns.” The work was commissioned by the Bodenseefestival, the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, Dzintaru Koncertzāle, the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. The world premiere would be conducted by Michal Nesterowicz on May 17^th , 2025, at the Stuttgart Liederhalle with soloist Ksenija Sidorova, to whom the work is dedicated. Nesterowicz would also conduct the first performances in Austria on May 19^th , 2025, in Dornbirn as part of the Bodensee Festival, and in Sofia. Under the baton of Andris Poga, the concert will be presented in Latvia on July 18 in Jurmala, and in England on January 22^nd , 2026, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.