MOST people think of the accordion, if they think of it at all, as a social instrument, wheezing out polkas and folk tunes. The sound of it brings to mind French cafes, Mexican plazas, German beer gardens, Argentine nightclubs. Nick Ariondo, perhaps the premier accordionist in Los Angeles, notes that the instrument's portability and its ability to play "everything: melody, chords and accompaniment" have made it popular all over the world.
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Polka? Nah, think Prokofiev
Ranked just above the kazoo in some musical circles, the accordion has had a long-standing and illustrious past outside the U.S. Maybe someday it'll get a little respect.
CLASSICAL MUSIC
This is the latest in a series of occasional stories looking at orchest
ral musicians and their instruments.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday, April 24, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 30 words Type of Material: Correction
Carl Fortina: An article about the accordion in Sunday's Arts & Music section said player Carl Fortina succeeded Dominic Frontiere as music contractor at Paramount Studios; Fortina succeeded Phil Kahgan.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, April 27, 2008 Home Edition Sunday Calendar Part E Page 2 Calendar Desk 1 inches; 27 words Type of Material: Correction
Carl Fortina: An article about the accordion last Sunday said that player Carl Fortina succeeded Dominic Frontiere as music contractor at Paramount Studios; Fortina succeeded Phil Kahgan.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday, May 01, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 44 words Type of Material: Correction
Accordionist: An article about the accordion in the April 20 Calendar section said that accordionist Nick Ariondo had played for a Los Angeles Opera production of "The Threepenny Opera." He played Kurt Weill's Suite from "The Threepenny Opera" with the USC Thornton Wind Ensemble.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, May 04, 2008 Home Edition Sunday Calendar Part E Page 2 Calendar Desk 1 inches; 39 words Type of Material: Correction
Accordionist: An April 20 article about the accordion said accordionist Nick Ariondo had played for a Los Angeles Opera production of "The Threepenny Opera." He played Kurt Weill's Suite from "The Threepenny Opera" with the USC Thornton Wind Ensemble.
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But the accordion is not just an instrument of the people. As Samuel Zyman, a New York composer and a faculty member at the Juilliard School, puts it: "There is a significant serious classical repertoire written for accordion, plus an extensive catalog of transcriptions of piano, organ and orchestral works."
Even Tchaikovsky used the concertina, a sort of hexagonal accordion, in one of his orchestral suites. Prokofiev included the accordion in his "Cantata for the Anniversary of the October Revolution." And a quick look at the list of the dozens of works commissioned by the other AAA -- the American Accordionists' Assn. -- reveals music by Henry Cowell, David Diamond, Lukas Foss, Virgil Thomson and Ernest Krenek.
Like hem lengths, though, the accordion has been subject to fashion. Because it was cheaper and easier to make room for than a piano, there was a period a few decades back when children all over the world, particularly little boys, played the accordion. They included Zyman, 51, who began music lessons in his native Mexico City studying the instrument.
"The accordion is an amazing instrument," says Ariondo, 58, who is also a composer and arranger. "It's powerful, but it's also delicate and sensitive. The public, when they really listen to it, are totally amazed. But let's face it, the serious-minded people are reluctant about it."
Indeed, nowadays the prevailing attitude may best be reflected by the popular bumper sticker "Use an accordion -- go to jail."
However you view it, the accordion can seem like a contradiction in terms. Says Ariondo: "When you see the piano side of it, complete with white and black notes, you expect to see hammers, not valves. But this is a push-and-pull reed instrument. When you pull out on the accordion, you're sucking air into it. It sounds like a harmonica. The bellows is like the bow on the violin. It's very difficult to master."
