Virtuoso introducing America to classical music on the accordion

By Kristen Peterson

Friday, May 16, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Lidia Kaminska followed what seemed to be the usual path to a prestigious career in music: She began studying at age 8 in Garlino, Poland, went away to music school in nearby Mlawa at age 10 and was competing internationally a year later. By 18 she was at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw studying for her master’s degree.

She toured, competed, performed, built a name for herself. It was a very healthy and successful climb.

But when Kaminska came to the United States to pursue her doctoral degree, she realized that she had some explaining to do, mainly, “No, I don’t play polkas.”

Kaminska is the first and still the only accordionist in the United States who has a doctorate in accordion (received from the University of Missouri, Kansas City).

“I can play a four-voice fugue, no problem,” Kaminska says playfully with a thick accent, speaking from her home in Philadelphia. “But nobody asked me to play polka music in Poland.”

That’s probably because in Poland the accordion is accepted as a serious medium for classical music, particularly Baroque. And if you haven’t heard someone knock out a Bach chaconne on accordion, now is your chance. On Friday Kaminska will perform at the Summerlin Library Theatre with classical guitar virtuoso Kasey Carmody. The program, hosted by the Las Vegas Chamber Music Society, marks Kaminska’s first visit to Las Vegas and includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti and Astor Piazzolla — just a small sampling from the musician’s repertoire of classical and contemporary music.

As it turns out, there is a slew of original literature for accordion, composed mostly by Europeans. What isn’t written for the accordion can usually be transcribed. Same sonatas and concertos, vastly different instrument.

“Breaking Boundaries,” Kaminska’s debut CD, released in 2005, includes selections from Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” two pieces by Argentine tango composer Piazzolla and a sonata by Italian Baroque composer Scarlatti. Its mission was educational: Convince listeners, particularly those in America, that the accordion is a serious classical music instrument. It’s been an ongoing effort since she first stepped off the plane.

“We were not sure what was going on in America about accordion because I had not seen students from America in competitions,” Kaminska says. “So there were a lot of questions and I had a one-way ticket.”

She’s since performed with chamber orchestras, contemporary ensembles, dance groups and orchestras, and is a virtuoso unlike any other.

Depending on the program, she switches between the bandoneon, a button accordion popular in Argentina, and the concert accordion. On Friday she will perform works on her Italian Zero Sette accordion. The program also includes works by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Aram Khachaturian, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Vladislav Zolotariev and Johann Strauss II.