Franz Kafkas Literarisches Umfeld in Prag

The accordion has long had a reputation as an instrument for folk music and of street musicians. Its technical and cultural evolution can be neatly traced from its very invention in 1829 by Cyrill Demian in his apartment on Vienna's Mariahilfer Straße, No. 43, to this day. The accordionist Bogdan Laketic, who lives in Vienna, dedicates his debut album Made in Vienna to this city, choosing works by composers who are also directly connected with Vienna. Thus, the Sonatas for Piano in A flat major, Hob. XVI:46 and in E minor, Hob. XVI:34 by Joseph Haydn, the Six little Piano Pieces Op. 19 by Arnold Schönberg and the Soirées de Vienne, S 427 No. 6 by Franz Liszt are interpreted in his own arrangements. Also based in Vienna is the Belgian composer Dirk D'Ase, who in 2011 composed Figuren/Induktionen, in which the diversity of the accordion's sound once again comes into play.

From the notes: "From his public appearances, he made his mark as a passionately probing musician with a miraculous touch who communicated an unequaled intensity to his listeners. He often presented ignored or forgotten works; he undertook a "Scriabin revival," championed the more neglected works of Schumann, and disclosed unsuspected depths in Schubert, early Beethoven, and Haydn Sonatas. An especially dedicated of Prokofiev, he gave the first concert performance of the Piano Sonata No. 7, and Prokofiev dedicated his Sonata No. 9 to Richter. A Richter recital, whether of familiar or neglected works, always left the listener with a transformed and deepend view of the works heard" Notes by S.W. Bennett