Who is Ksenija Sidorova?
Ksenija Sidorova is a Latvian accordionist who is widely admired for her stage presence and virtuosity. In the last decade or so she has become something of an ambassador for this often-mocked instrument, boosting its glamour and demonstrating just how wide and varied a repertoire it is capable of accommodating.
Accordionist Ksenija Sidorova | Photo: John Kentish
Where was she born?
She was born in May 1988 in Riga, Latvia.
Does she come from a musical family?
Nobody else in her family is a professional musician
- Read: Review of Jan Tait and the Bear | an opera based on a folk tale from the Isle of Fetlar in Shetland
Why did she decide to play the accordion?
Ksenija Sidorova’s grandmother, who played a folk instrument called the garmoshka, introduced her to the accordion when Sidorova was eight years old. “She said that she would be the most popular person at any party – which is not true!,” said Sidorova in an interview with us seven years ago.
What was her training?
After learning a couple of songs and basic chords from her grandmother, Sidorova was enrolled by her mother at a music conservatory.“They asked me what instrument I wanted to play. I said the accordion. The secretary flipped out. She said, ‘Nobody chooses the accordion,’ recalled Sidorova in an interview for Ravinia.org. “But when you are a kid you are fearless. They said I could begin, and if I did not do well I would have to leave at the end of the term.” She was there for 10 years, studying with Marije Gasele, whom she calls “my Jewish mother.” She later went on to study at London’s Royal Academy of Music.
So when did she decide to be a professional accordionist?
When the time came to get a better instrument, which she knew would be expensive, the 13-year-old Sidorova had a serious talk with her parents. It resulted in two things: a new instrument, and a vocation. “I knew this would be my profession,” she says.
What kind of music does she play?
Everything from pop music to opera. She played with Sting at Bryn Terfel’s 50th birthday celebrations at the Royal Albert Hall. But she has also played all sorts of contemporary classical music, and has even worked on the soundtrack for a game on Playstation 4.
Where can I next see Ksenija Sidorova perform?
UK audiences can next see her perform at the Bristol Beacon on 28 March 2025 in a concert including Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture, Trojan’s Fairy Tales Concerto, de Hartmann’s Fairy Tales and Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini.
https://bristolbeacon.org/whats-on/bournemouth-symphony-orchestra-mar-25/