Across a tour of concerts in November featuring concerts in Neunkirchen, Graz, Leibnitz, St. Andrä, and Celje (Slovenia), Swedish accordionist Leo Florin (founder of the Kammerton Festival) presented a compelling portrait of the modern accordionist: virtuosic, stylistically versatile, and deeply committed to artistic dialogue across eras and traditions.

Even at a young age, Leo Florin celebrated numerous successes at international competitions, including winning the prestigious Premio Internazionale della Fisarmonica in Castelfidardo, Italy. In addition to hundreds of concerts in Sweden and abroad, Leo has also performed for King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden.

He has appeared on radio and television and was named “Accordionist of the Year” in Sweden in 2022. As the initiator and artistic director of the Kammerton Accordion Festival in Stockholm, he aims to showcase the accordion’s full range of possibilities, both solo and in combination with other instruments.

The program of his Austrian concerts was very well-balanced in terms of musical eras (from Baroque and Romantic to Modern) and styles (from popular music and arrangements of classical works to original compositions).

Johan Helmich Roman was a Swedish composer of the Baroque period whose oeuvre included suites, solo concertos, and symphonies. From his best-known work, “Drottningholm Music,” Leo performed the first movement, an Allegro. After Jean-Philippe Rameau’s “Les Sauvages” (The Savages) and “Le rappel des Oiseaux” (Birds’ Song), Leo concluded the Baroque portion of his concert with Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV 849.”

For contemporary works, Leo alternated between Torbjörn Lundquist’s “Metamorphosen” and Martin Lohse’s “Passing,” which has recently been heard frequently at competitions. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “May” from “The Seasons” provided an excellent contrast. Mikhail Glinka’s “The Lark” (here in the arrangement by the Kazakh composer Olzhas Nurlanov) is a Russian Romantic piece originally known from the transcription by Mili Balakirev.

Leo concluded his concert with the rousing “Dance of the Shepherd Girls” by Hugo Alfvén (also considered Sweden’s national composer). As a tribute to his host country, Austria, he treated his enthusiastic audience to two virtuoso encores: Johann Strauss’s “Tritsch-Tratsch Polka” and a paraphrase on themes by Mozart.

This concert was part of a long-standing series initiated by Scheibenreif in 1980, which has hosted numerous accomplished artists, including Vladimir Dolgopolov, Aleksandr and Vitaly Dmitriev, Frédéric Guérouet, Friedrich Lips, Frank Marocco, Jean-Marc Marroni, Elsbeth Moser, Trio PSP, Sergey Osokin, and Klaus Paier, among others. Over the years, the series has gained recognition for featuring both prominent soloists and distinguished ensembles, drawing audiences with an appreciation for world-class accordion and violin performances.

Videos of the concert were recorded live at the Sparkassen Lounge in Neunkirchen, Austria. Thomas Gansterer (recording), Angelika Schwarz (editor), Johannes Scheibenreif (audio mastering) & produced by Herbert Scheibenreif.