ACCORDION IN THE WORLD HISTORY OF PERFORMANCE

Abstract

This article examines the world history of accordion performance. In the historical and cultural context, the period from the end of the 19th century to the present day is analyzed, which covers all the key stages of the formation of accordion performance, from its mass household distribution to academicization and entering the professional scene. In the materials of the work, the stages of the development of accordion performance are outlined in a panoramic view, first of all, in Germany, where this instrument was and is most popular. It was in Germany in the mid-20s of the last century that the question arose about the need to create original works of a new level, focused on academic rather than mass music of that time. In addition, the article also contains information about the development of performance in Italy – the country that is the largest manufacturer of accordions in the world, because Italian companies were the first to master production and made many improvements in the technical and constructive characteristics of accordions. The work also contains material devoted to accordion performance in the USA, in the context of the growing popularity of this instrument at the beginning of the 20th century. The peculiarities of the main directions of the development of the accordion in this country are revealed, of which there are three: the use of the accordion as a solo instrument for the performance of virtuosic pieces written on the basis of dance genres; conditionally folklore direction; the appearance of the accordion among jazz performers. The fourth and last country in the context of which the history of accordion performance was considered is France. Attention is focused on the fact that the development of performance on this instrument in France, compared to other countries that were mentioned earlier (Germany, Italy, USA), was not so active and fast. The work also contains a number of accordion performers and composers known in each country, who were among the first to create professional accordion opuses.