Denis Patkovic
Denis Patkovic
22 July 2008German accordionist denis patkovic tells chris horkan why he’s intent on establishing his instrument in the classical discipline
Think of the accordion and you're likely to picture buskers playing traditional folk music on the streets of European and Russian towns and cities. But the free-reed instrument, patented in 1829 by Austrian inventor Cyrill Demian, has been remodelled as a classical instrument.
'There are two different types of piano accordion,' says classical accordionist Denis Patkovic, 'with standard bass for entertainment music, and free bass so I can play the same tune on the left as the right.'
The free bass model emerged in the 1940s and in the intervening 60 years has allowed musicians such as 27-year-old Patkovic to expand the accordion repertoire to include classical works including Bach's Goldberg Variations, which he has recorded for his debut CD.
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