Polish accordionist Maciej Frąckiewicz on the works and challenges of contemporary music

Dzvenyslava Safian

3 days ago

At the end of September, renowned Polish accordionist Maciej Frąckiewicz took part in the International Festival of Contemporary Music “Contrasts” in Lviv, where he performed the Ukrainian premiere of Zygmunt Krauze’s Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra and a conceptual solo program of works by Polish and Ukrainian composers.

We talked about how the artist promotes contemporary music for the accordion and shapes the discourse of performance for this unique instrument.

Collaboration with Ukrainian institutions

Actually, everything so far has happened thanks to Bohdan Sehin, the commercial director for new music at the Lviv Philharmonic — or because of him, in some way. The very first time I played here was as part of the Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra. Concert also featured two Polish soloists singers performing Ukrainian contemporary music, and even included an accordion in the orchestra. So maybe we shouldn’t count that as my real debut.

My very first time in Lviv for my own concert was, if I’m not mistaken, in 2014 or 2015. It was supposed to be a recital with the Polish violinist Agata Szymczewska. We received a grant to perform a sonata by the Polish composer Mikołaj Makusiak, and we needed venues where we could play. But unfortunately, two days before the concert, she got sick. So I played solo instead.

Then, in 2018, there was another idea — to prepare my solo program, half Ukrainian and half Polish: three Polish pieces and three Ukrainian: a sonata by Oleksandr Szczetyński, Verticalis by Lubawa Sydorenko, and a piece by Bohdan Sehin. The Polish works were Dariusz Przybylski’s sonata, Mikołaj Majkusiak’s Dyad and Penderecki’s Sinfonietta. After that, I came again to play Penderecki’s Concerto — that must have been 2018 as well, with the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Taras Krysa.

In Ukraine, some people call this instrument bayan but that’s actually not correct. That name comes from Russia, it’s not used elsewhere in Europe. Maybe in China a little, but not much. In Western or Central Europe, it is simply called an accordion. Of course, there are piano accordions and button accordions, but generally people just say accordion.

Some colleagues, and I sometimes do it too, we use the term classical accordion. But that’s not really about the type of keyboard; it’s more about the instrument’s musical possibilities. For example, a classical accordion has different registers and allows you to play single notes with the left hand, so it’s more flexible.

It’s a bit like guitars: you have acoustic guitars and classical guitars. The classical one lets you play a wider range of repertoire.

When I play with an orchestra, it might sound simple, but you just have to play louder. Even if you have microphones, it’s still physically demanding — after 20 or 25 minutes you’re completely drained of energy (laughs). But seriously, for me, performing with an orchestra feels like chamber music on a large scale.

I’m not a detached soloist who doesn’t care what’s happening behind, especially in contemporary music. Maybe in classical repertoire, when you have a clear melody and the orchestra mainly accompanies, you can lead more freely. But in new works, it’s all interconnected — like a huge chamber ensemble. Instead of a quartet or quintet, you have forty musicians around you, and you have to be constantly aware of what they’re doing, how to stay together. Sometimes they inspire you, sometimes you inspire them — through sounds, colors, energy, atmospheres. In solo playing, of course, you have more freedom, but also more responsibility. It’s a one-man show.

As for programming: I’m Polish myself. I always try to promote Polish music abroad whenever I can. I think each of us should bring as much as possible from our own country to the outside world.

I also have a few Ukrainian students, and I always tell them: if you don’t play Ukrainian music, who will? You have to play it. You study in Germany? Then show this music there. That’s our mission as artists.

Because of the war, I chose two pieces directly related to it. The first one, by Milica Djordjević, recalls her childhood in Belgrade — she was almost a teenager when NATO bombed the city. She remembers the lights of explosions and transformed those memories into a musical picture. I definitely wanted to include that piece.

And the last piece — Every City by Oleksandr Szczetyński — also touches on the idea that every city, every country, has the right to exist, to have its own laws, its own identity. These two works became the frame of the program.

Inside that frame, I added pieces that corresponded not only in theme, but also in sound and style. I always try to create variety — different aesthetics, different musical languages. My goal is that even if just one piece speaks deeply to each listener, that’s already a success.

Especially in contemporary music, if all the pieces are too complex or written in the same “new” language, after a while they can start to sound similar. So I try to make the program colorful, not only to show the instrument’s possibilities, but also the range of contemporary composers today.

Connections with living composers. Accordion Concerto by Zygmunt Krauze

For me as an accordionist, I’m constantly searching for repertoire: what can I play with orchestra, what new pieces exist for my instrument? We have far fewer options than pianists or violinists; our history is shorter. So one of my missions is to help build repertoire for accordion — solo, chamber, and orchestral.

Zygmunt Krauze is one of the most important Polish composers — and internationally, too, also because of his organizational work as chairman of the International Society for Contemporary Music. I already knew and admired his music, especially his Violin Concerto, which amazed me with its multiple layers and textures.

In 2013, he invited me as artist-in-residence at the summer course for composers in Radziejowice, Poland. My job was to present the accordion to the young composers, to demonstrate its sound, possibilities, and techniques. Each of them wrote a short 2–3 minute piece during those two weeks, and I performed them all at the end.

That’s when I got to know Krauze better. He had already used the accordion in his works as early as the 1970s in orchestral and piano concertos which was very rare at that time. Accordion in Poland back then was associated with café or restaurant music, not the concert hall. So he was probably the first Polish composer to include it in serious orchestral works.

He liked the instrument. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have written for it. So I started persuading him to compose a concerto. At first, he said, “Maybe one day, yes, yes…” but later, when we found a grant and an opportunity to premiere it at the Musica Polonica Nova Festival in Wrocław, he agreed. He’s a pianist, so he tends to think pianistically — and although accordion and piano might look similar, acoustically they’re very different.

In Krauze’s concerto, what I find fascinating is how he blends contemporary energy and dynamics with subtle folk intonations. That’s just his natural musical language — a balance between modern aesthetics and melodic nostalgia. There’s always something lyrical, almost French in its color, probably because he spent many years in Paris. His music combines this folkish or emotional warmth with driving rhythmic vitality.

Zygmunt Krauze · Accordion Concerto

He also values improvisatory freedom which is clear in the concerto. There are cadenza-like sections that are rhythmically open. He gave me a lot of freedom to refine the solo part — we made small adjustments, octave changes, articulation experiments. Even recently we were still discussing how to play the repeated chords in the first movement — whether to change the bellows direction (like violin bowing) or keep them one-way. Each performance has been slightly different. The piece is still alive, still evolving. At one point, he even cut some of my long sustained notes, leaving them to the orchestra instead. So yes, the concerto keeps transforming.

Teaching the contemporary music

Just a few days ago, I gave a masterclass at the Academy here, and I noticed that some students are afraid of playing contemporary music. They are talented, skillful, but not yet open to it. Maybe they lack understanding, or simply experience.

But this is a real problem: if they don’t want to play contemporary music, and also cannot or shouldn’t play Russian music — then what is left? Only transcriptions! You can’t build your skills or artistic identity that way.

For example, from the very beginning of my education, I was already playing contemporary pieces — we have quite a few written for children in Poland. For example, Andrzej Krzanowski wrote two whole books of short, playful works for young students — pieces with rhythmic games, sound effects, small improvisations. They’re not for the concert stage, but they train imagination. So for me, contemporary music was never something separate. It was always part of my normal musical life. I think that’s why Poland has quite a few accordionists who specialize in new music. It’s built into our education system.

Now I teach at two universities in Germany — Detmold and Nuremberg — with about 12–13 students in total. Of course, there’s a lot of focus on new music in Germany; it’s probably the strongest contemporary scene in the world.

But interestingly, even in Nuremberg, which I recently joined, I noticed that students from Bavaria are quite conservative. When I proposed one contemporary piece, one of them asked jokingly, “Professor, do you wear earplugs when you play this?” (laughs). So yes, there’s still work to do.

I’m also chairman of the jury for the upcoming German Music Competition — held every four years, featuring many instruments. Accordion has been included only three times so far. I helped select the repertoire, and although I couldn’t decide everything, I managed to include a lot of contemporary pieces, even Polish ones: Wojtek Blecharz, Jakub Szmytka, Milica Djordjević (she is not Polish), and others.

I always tell my students: our instrument was born for contemporary music.

Of course, we can play everything, but we cannot avoid new music, it’s in our DNA. When I was a student at the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, we tried to form our own group. We called it Warsaw Contemporary Ensemble. It was a quartet: accordion, cello, bass clarinet, and electric guitar. We performed six or seven premieres over about two years, but eventually everyone went their own way. But the timbre was fresh and unique, those sounds blended beautifully.

Pigini Nova, exclusive accordion of Frąckiewicz

To be honest, there aren’t many real options if you want a top-quality instrument. Pigini is basically the only choice at that level. I wouldn’t call it “exclusive”, it’s just the best model they make — their flagship, Nova. When I ordered mine, I told them: build me the best instrument you can, no matter the cost. They said, “We can’t do anything better than our Nova model, but we can make small adjustments.” So I ordered a new Nova, that’s the top of the line.

You can’t really customize every detail, unless you find a single craftsman who works just for you for two years — like a violin maker. Accordion building is extremely precise: the position of the reeds is measured in microns, not millimeters. It affects everything. The mechanism — every little adjustment matters. It requires enormous patience and skilled hands.

Pigini builds only six or seven of these instruments per year. I have two. One from 2013 and a new one from last year. For the second one, I asked for a slightly warmer sound, and I think they succeeded, let’s say, in fulfilling my request. It’s still quite new, and, as you know, the better the instrument, the more time it needs to open up — to truly flourish. Especially this one. I remember how my previous instrument reacted, I played it a lot, practiced a lot, performed a lot. I still have recordings from that time, and the difference between then and later was huge. The company Pigini is known for its rather bright, direct sound — not sharp, but more on the clear side. This instrument is a bit darker, more mellow, as they used another type of wood inside to achieve a warmer tone, so it needs time.

Plans and commissions for new pieces

Every year I say I’ll slow down, but I never do. I keep repeating the same thing. Still, this year I already spoke with Aleksander Lasoń about a new sonata for accordion and violin. So next year we’ll probably premiere it. I’ll perform it with Polish violinist Wojciech Koprowski, professor in Warsaw and Kraków, former first violinist of the Meccore Quartet.

Our idea is to play three Polish sonatas — by Lasoń (new), Marcin Błażewicz, and Mikołaj Majkusiak. For a violinist, a sonata recital is normal, but for accordion–violin duo it’s quite rare — and it creates a beautiful contrast of timbres.

This year I’ll also perform several previously commissioned works. For example, Caldera Concerto by Grażyna Pstrokońska in Tallinn. Then the premiere of the last movement of Four Seasons by Przemysław Scheller from Katowice.

One concert I’m especially proud of will take place at the Polish Radio in my hometown, Białystok — where contemporary music concerts never happen, usually just rock bands. It will be broadcast live from the small studio, featuring Four Seasons by Scheller and Relief VIII by Andrzej Krzanowski — his unfinished an older-style electronic piece from the late 1980s.

I’ll also play at Arena Festival in Riga, and a few concerts with a double bass player. We’ll perform, among others, sonatas by Wojciech Widłak from Kraków and Wojciech Nowak — a very original composer from the 1980s who wrote three pieces for accordion. This duo will be one of them, and we’ll perform it in Harpa, Reykjavik. So yes, quite a tight schedule — until the end of the year I’m constantly traveling.

I do not play every day, actually. I don’t have time to practice enough. I learn a lot from the scores while traveling. Someone once told me about a famous organist from Paris who practiced mentally while waiting at red lights — that’s a bit how it is for me now. But at this point, it’s not about constant playing. My skills are stable; the challenge is learning new pieces. I need to keep my body in shape. So I go to the gym, not to build muscles, but to support them.

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