One of the significant achievements in the development of the accordion in this century has been that many compositions originally written for other instruments (such as piano, violin, clarinet, even symphony and chamber orchestra), have been transcribed and adopted for the accordion. These works are regularly included in the concert repertoire of the accordion concert artists. That was and is an enormous contribution toward the broadening of the accordion repertoire and the position and treatment of the accordion amongst the other classical instruments and by other classical musicians. In the music education of the young accordionists, Russian bayan schools always made an emphasis on the transcriptions for the bayan. This form is a regular part of the concert repertoire of the Russian accordion concert artists too. No less significant in the repertoire of Russian accordion concert artists are Russian folk themes, songs and dances, which are arranged for the accordion in the form of variations, fantasies, paraphrases, etc. Friedrich Lips contributed greatly and continues to do so in the field of transcriptions for the bayan. There is an absolutely enormous amount of music: organ pieces, piano pieces, violin pieces, which he has transcribed for the accordion and published. On this CD, Lips performs transcriptions for the bayan of piano works by Russian composers of the 19th century such as Mussorgski, Rachmaninov, Borodin, Ljadow, etc. and Russian folk themes arranged for the bayan by Panitzky, Bisow, Schenderjow, etc. So this CD is very "Russian" so to speak. The artistry of Friedrich Lips is very well known to many accordion lovers and professionals around the world. Talking about Lips is talking about one of "The Greatest Accordionists" alive, as he is regarded by many. His mastery and artistry are of the highest calibre and set the standards in the accordion world. This CD proves just that one more time! |