Klaus Paier (accordion, bandoneon), Asja Valcic (violoncello)

Both are established musicians with international careers. Both have played with the greats of the world, and both have successfully broken new ground. And now Asja Valcic and Klaus Paier have brought out a recording sensation: 13 pieces for accordion/bandoneon and cello. The cornerstone for this duo was laid several years ago, when the celebrated accordionist, bandoneon player and composer Klaus Paier set standards playing solo, duo (with Gerald Preinfalk), with his trio and in collaboration with the Vienna Radio String Quartet. The Croat Asja Valcic belongs to the latter ensemble. She appeared as a soloist under the baton of well-known conductors, made music with renowned contemporaries and played on many chamber music CDs before turning to jazz.

Together Paier and Valcic have brought into being a musical cosmos full of percussive electricity, internalized passion and deliberate purism that manages to leave room for improvisation. Paier’s diverse compositions carry expressive titles like “La Pirouette,” “Singing Bird,” or “Histoire d’ amour.” These are chamber music dialogues – tender and gripping, passionate and cool, playful and strange – that draw on diverse musical forms and traditions while remaining free from pathos. These compositions hint freely and directly at French musettes, Argentinian tangos, Balkan dance, purple-haze rock and jazz, and yet each piece is, above all, a genuine Paierish musical invention, intricate and marked by gravity, precision and intensity. The pieces are carried off with passion and a lighthearted ease by the musical soul mates Klaus Paier and Asja Valcic.  

Entrance with full festival ticket or one-day ticket.