In-depth interview

Luca Pignata has been an exchange student on the master level with me on the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2013/14. He has also made a big interview with me on planet-accordion.com. The interview is divided in seven parts: 1) Introduction to the Scandinavian culture and society, 2) From the contemporary to the traditional music and back, 3) Ellegaard and Nordheim, accordion meets Norway, 4) A personal experience, New Scandinavian music for accordion, 5) Maja S.K. Ratkje – Gagaku Variations, Ich bin ein Japaner!, 6) Bent Sørensen – Looking on Darkness, researching a new sound, 7) Atli Ingólfsson – Radioflakes, new virtuosism

It has been very interesting for me to go in detail on such details as playing techniques in pieces by Sørensen and Ingólfsson, but I also enjoyed the more philosophical talks we have had around Scandinavian identity and how this is reflected in music from Scandinavia, as well as the influence from Japanese music on my and Maja’s work, focusing especially on her piece ‘gagaku variations’ for accordion and string quartet. I hope that the interview can be a resource for musicians who are studying any of these works, and for those interested in learning more about Scandinavian music in general.