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The first
trace of the accordion in Iceland dates back to 1874. From
then until the nineteenth century, the accordion was an important
instrument at dances, but there are no writings or recordings
by these accordionists. The traditional music of Iceland is
a mixture of Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Danish music,
among others. At the turn of the century, the diatonic accordion
all but disappeared, in favour of the piano accordion. In
1930, the first accordion record was released. Pietro Deiro
played on one side, and on the other was a medley of waltzes.
In 1939
Bragi Hlidberg, aged fourteen, gave a recital in the Reykjavik
concert hall. He acquired a reputation as an excellent musician.
After a long break, he took up the accordion again in 1970
and recorded two LPs. Another Icelandic pioneer of the chromatic
accordion was Lydur Sigtryggsson, who won the Scandinavian
Accordion Championships in 1947. Grettir Björnsson won
the Canadian Championships in the late 1950's. Today he is
one of the better known accordionists, and has recorded many
records.
Today
there are many accordion clubs in Iceland, the first of which
was founded in 1978. Since then, the accordion has experienced
a resurgence in popularity.
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