Paul Chamberlain / Weber/ Piazzolla/ Zolotariev - Accordion Sensations

The origins of the accordion can be traced back to the Chinese Sheng, though the instrument we know as an accordion today was patented by Cyrillus Damian in Vienna in 1829. Popular the world over in various forms as a folk instrument, it was only in the latter half of the 20th century that the development of the "free-bass" system - which allowed for the freedom to move away from the arrangement of pre-set chords on the left-hand side of the instrument - gave accordionists the opportunity to cross into the world of mainstream classical music. The accordion is a very expressive instrument, capable of producing a wonderful variety of timbres from it's registers, with a large dynamic range. This disc contains some of the repertoire for the instrument in both solo and chamber capacities, with a range of music spanning four centuries from Baroque sonatas to more contemporary works.