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GUITAR AND ACCORDION

Contemporary Music for Classical Guitar and Concert Accordion

The combination of classical guitar and concert accordion creates a distinctive chamber‑music sound world—intimate, flexible, and rich in color.
This page features Lior Navok’s Blurred Formations, a contemporary work written specifically for this duo, highlighting the expressive possibilities and unique timbral blend of guitar and accordion in modern chamber music.

BLURRED FORMATIONS

for classical guitar and concert accordion

Duration:

10 minutes
 

Instrumentation:   

classical guitar and concert accordion

Year Composed:  

2002
 

Written For:            
Erika Santek-Pircher and Harald Pröckl

Commissioned By:

Erika Santek-Pircher and Harald Pröckl

Premiere Performance:

30 April 2003
Innsbruck, Austria
Erika Santek-Pircher, guitar
Harald Pröckl, accordion

guitar and accordion

THEMES:

COLOR
LISTEN

Audio

Program Notes

While composing Blurred Formations, I was preoccupied with the ideas of ever-changing spots of color, constantly moving ocean plants, sea anemones, and fish shoals. Usually, these visual images fascinate our eyes, as their continuous formation is truly harmonious and somewhat mysterious. Yet, the endless formations are not necessarily easy to catch or view sharply. These blurred formations, in their visual sense, intrigued me to search for their sonic equivalence. Through ever-changing clusters, vague arpeggiations, and occasional chromatic melody, I attempted to translate my images into sound. In some cases, the blur is thick and dark, while in others it is thin, light, and spacious. Both the accordion and guitar contribute to the clarity and the blurriness of the formations, each with its own unique timbre.
 

Abstract
Blurred Formations is a contemporary work for classical guitar and concert accordion inspired by ever‑shifting visual patterns—floating spots of color, drifting ocean plants, sea anemones, and moving shoals of fish. These natural formations, harmonious yet difficult to perceive with clarity, prompted a search for their sonic equivalent. The piece unfolds through changing clusters, vague arpeggiations, and occasional chromatic lines, creating textures that alternate between thick and shadowed or thin, light, and spacious. Both instruments shape the clarity and the blurriness of these formations, each contributing its own distinctive timbre to a continuously evolving musical landscape.

VIEW SCORE

Score Sample

Score of Blurred Formations for guitar and accordion

About Music for Guitar and Accordion

Although not a traditional pairing, the classical guitar and concert accordion form a highly expressive duo capable of both delicate transparency and powerful resonance. Contemporary composers increasingly explore this combination for its ability to shift between blended textures and sharply contrasting articulations. Works for this ensemble often highlight color, atmosphere, and subtle rhythmic interplay, making it a distinctive voice within modern chamber music.

Selected Accordion Works

  • Luciano Berio, Sequenza XIII (Chanson), 1995

  • Sofia Gubaidulina, De Profundis, 1978

  • Vladimir Zubitsky, Omaggio ad Astor Piazzolla, 1987

  • Jukka Tiensuu, Spiriti, 2005

  • Edison Denisov, Des ténèbres à la lumière, 1995

  • Per Nørgård, Recall, 1968

  • Magnus Lindberg, Jeux d’anches, 1990

  • John Cage, Souvenir (originally for organ), 1984

  • Arne Nordheim, Flashing, 1985

  • Alexander Dmitriev, Prière, 1980

  • Vladimir Runchak, Sonata for Bayan, 1997

  • Gorka Hermosa, Euskal Suite, 2005

  • Peter Machajdík, Concerto for Two Bayans and Orchestra, 2009

  • Astor Piazzolla, Tango Suite (originally for guitar duo), 1984

  • Richard Galliano, Opale Concerto, 1994

  • Paolo Angeli, Freeform Works (on prepared Sardinian guitar), various years

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