One of the best things about having an accordion blog is that strangers start sending you emails about kick-ass accordionists that you never heard of before. I now have a new favorite accordionist that I never heard of before.
His name is Martynas Levickis and I recently lost myself in YouTube for hours watching this smiling, curly-haired, 23-year-old Lithuanian. Sigh.
Give him a listen–you’ll see what I mean.
He’s also got serious street cred:
- Bachelors of Music from the Royal Academy of Music
- Winner of the Coupe Mondiale in 2010 (basically the World Cup for accordionists)
- Winner of Lithuania’s Got Talent in 2011
Yes, he won Lithuania’s Got Talent. Skip ahead to 7 min. 58 sec. if you want to watch him bring the three judges and the entire audience to their feet. He starts playing music at 4 min. 35 sec.
His first CD, Martynas, was recently released in the U.S. and his rep at Universal Music sent me not one copy but two. It’s really really good. Dance around in your living room good. Detox from a stressful day good. You’ll find everything from gypsy music (Hungarian Dance No.5 and my hands down fav Czardas) to a Brazilian pop song (Nossa, Nossa). Also sprinkled in are Beethoven, Vivaldi, a Katy Perry song (not ordinarily a fan but I’ll listen to him play anything) and even my favorite traditional Jewish folk song Hava Nagila. Tying it all together is his passionate and first-rate musicianship. Here’s a preview:
Bonus tip: Share this blog post on your Facebook or twitter account and I’ll write your name down and throw it in a hat. If I pick your name, I’ll send you his CD, simple as that. Martynas wants to expose the accordion to the masses as one of the most fabulous instruments on earth. Let’s help him do that.
P.S. If you don’t win the CD from me, you can buy it here.
Thanks for this, Karen…happy to share indeed…keep ‘em coming, and greetings from Bonny Scotland! ♫ ヅ ♫
Karen, I thoroughly enjoyed this. He has flying fingers. Completely captivating.
Very talented!
So happy you guys are enjoying him as much as I am. I am captivated as well. Can’t stop watching him.
And greetings from Richmond, VA, Brian! I hope to visit Scotland one day!
The Eastern bloc’s answer to Jimi Hendrix! Cool
He’s wonderful! Can’t get enough of him!