International Accordion Competition Klingenthal

60 Years of Accordion History

by Irene Urrutia Martín (24.04.2023)

The International Accordion Competition in Klingenthal is one of the most prestigious accordion competitions and takes place annually in the small town in the Vogtland region near the Czech border. Since 1963, the competition has been a reference point for accordionists around the world.

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More than 170 Years of History

Klingenthal is considered the birthplace of the accordion in Germany. For more than 170 years, accordions have been manufactured in this small German town. The first accordion workshop in the town was founded in 1850 by Carl Friedrich Uhlig, and since then the town has developed into a major centre for the production of accordions and other musical instruments. In 1949, a group of accordion musicians from the region decided to launch a competition to promote performance, exchange experiences, and present new accordion compositions. The call for entries in 1952 still contains the basic criteria today: a compulsory piece, additional optional pieces, and "if possible, original compositions". Thus, the foundations for the Klingenthal Accordion Competition were laid. In 1963, it had its first international participation.

In 1956, representatives of the VEB Klingenthal Harmonikawerke (KHW) organised a "meeting between experts in accordion construction and playing" for the first time. The result was the accordion model "Weltmeister Supita", which was intended to meet the requirements of concert accordion music with cassotto – a sound chamber inside the accordion that achieves a particular sound. Both the original model and the current "Supita II" are considered masterpieces of Klingenthal accordion industry history.

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The Importance of the Competition

The competition was a significant event that managed to bring together accordionists from different parts of the world, including schools from Eastern and Western Europe, at a time when contact between them was practically impossible. This event enabled the exchange of original accordion repertoire, which had previously been limited and isolated on both sides of the Berlin Wall.

Homepage:https://www.accordion-competition.de/

International Competition

The International Accordion Competition Klingenthal is divided into seven categories, the first three of which are for soloists. The first category is for participants up to the age of 12, the second for participants up to the age of 15, the third for participants up to the age of 18, and the fourth has no age limit. The fifth category is for chamber music with accordion, the sixth for soloists of light virtuoso music, and the seventh for soloists of traditional music with chromatic or diatonic accordion.

There are several stages in the categories, with the fourth category divided into four stages. This year, in the elimination phase, Balgkann by Uroš Rojko in conjunction with a prelude and fugue by Bach, was selected as the compulsory piece. Additionally, one of the following options must be chosen:

Sheet Music of Works for the International Accordion Competition Klingenthal 2023:

A. Hölszky

High Way for One

Accordion

P. Nørgård

Anatomic Safari

Accordion

P.R. Olsen

Without A Title Op. 72

Accordion

Schmidt Ole

Toccata Nr 2 (1963)

Accordion

L. Berio

Sequenza XIII

für Akkordeon

J. Feld

Vier Intermezzi (1967)

Accordion

S. Gubaidulina

Et Exspecto

Accordion (bayan)

S. Gubaidulina

De Profundis

Accordion (bayan)

Ganzer Juergen

Passacaglia

Accordion

T. Hosokawa

Melodia (1979)

Accordion

Ishii Maki

Tango Prism Op 73

Accordion

M. Kagel

Episoden, Figuren - Solo für Akkordeon - (1993)

Accordion

G. Katzer

En avant! - où? (1986)

Accordion

M. Lindberg et al.

Jeux D'Anches Pour Accordeon

Accordion

B. Mantovani

8'20'' chrono

Accordion

A. Nordheim

Arne Nordheim: Flashing

Accordion

Whose Song

Accordion

K. Penderecki

Concerto

Accordion solo, orchestra

In the selection phase, a programme of 25 to 35 minutes must be performed, which includes a sonata by Scarlatti and other works.

Finally, in the final phase, a work with orchestra is always performed, with this year's selection being the "Accordion Concerto" by Krzysztof Penderecki.

Small Accordion Days

The music town of Klingenthal is also host once a year to the participants of the so-called "Small Accordion Days", where young accordionists from all over Germany and the Czech Republic meet to demonstrate their skills in a fair competition and gain competition experience. Like the International Accordion Competition, this regional competition for young accordionists has also contributed significantly to establishing Klingenthal's reputation as a music town. This year, the Small Accordion Days took place on the 5th and 6th of March.