Akkordeon Grenzenlos 2024 – Germany
April 12th 2024
Dr Herbert Scheibenreif Manager of Friedrich Lips Productions
Jury pictured left to right: Zbigniew Ignaczewski (Poland), Andreas Nebl (Germany), Eric Dann (Director of the Hohner Conservatory and manager of Akkordeon Grenzenlos), Frédéric Deschamps (France), Ladislav Horak (Czech Republic), Dr. Herbert Scheibenreif (Austria), Zoran Rakic (Serbia) and Marko Sevarlic (Serbia).
Akkordeon Grenzenlos, an event organized by the Hohner Conservatory in Trossingen, Germany, has developed into a fixture in the international accordion world in just a few years. The festival has become a widely recognized cultural highlight through a variety of concerts, workshops and forums. For the first time this year, a top-class competition was held in cooperation with the German Harmonica Association. The visit to Akkordeon Grenzenlos was a holistic experience for all participants, which provided important impulses for their further involvement with the accordion instrument.
The workshops with top-class lecturers were aimed at players of all harmonica instruments such as accordion, harmonica, Styrian harmonica, diatonic but also players of other instruments. Tian Long Li dedicated himself to the genre of jazz, Matthias Matzke took us into the world of rock and pop and Alex Almeida taught all fans of Brazilian accordion music the basics of the rousing musical style Forró. All accordion teachers were also offered the special workshop “A new technical approach”, in which the globally sought-after Frédéric Déschamps shared his expertise and gave valuable inspiration for teaching practice.
The competitors in three categories – classical, popular and ensemble – fought for their positions with great commitment and fairness, which made the festival an unforgettable experience full of excitement. The three best in each category competed in the final rounds as part of a public competition concert. All winning places were endowed with cash prizes, and the winner of the classical category also received a concert engagement at the World Music Festival 2025 in Innsbruck.
Vladimir Stupnikov (Russia), Fe Fritschi (Germany) and the Polish duo Bukojemska & Majchrowski (accordion/violin) won first prizes in their respective categories.
The evening concerts offered a variety of accordion music with the workshop lecturers, students from the Hohner Conservatory and the finalists of the competition. As part of a jam session, musicians from different styles were able to play music together on stage. In the final concert, the renowned duo Klaus Paier (accordion) and Asja Valcic (cello) presented their program “Vision for Two”.
The festival was accompanied by tours of the Harmonica Museum and Hohner and a sheet music exhibition.
Conservatory director Eric Dann and jury manager Andreas Nebl are to be warmly congratulated on the successful organization of Akkordeon Grenzenlos 2024.
Akkordeon Grenzenlos 2025 will take place from April 22nd to 26th, 2025. Save the date. (picture below).