Accordion teaching in artistic music education in selected centers in Podkarpacie, 1951–2010

Abstract

This article is an attempt to summarize and highlight the importance of professional accordion teaching in selected centers in the Podkarpacie region in the years 1951–2010. Subsequent studies will focus on many distinguished and equally, or even outstanding and excellent accordion teaching centers. The presented text is a fragment of a larger whole, which, due to the enormous amount of material and information, has been divided into several complementary studies in the future. Podkarpacie is the leading area of accordion playing in Poland, and the author’s intention is to create a monograph on the education of accordionists in our region. Subsequent articles will concern other centers. The development of education on this instrument is closely linked to the development of arts education in Poland, the provision of highly qualified staff, and the evolution of the instrument itself at that time – from the so-called standard instrument to the concert keyboard and button instrument with a baritone bass manual. The profiles of the first professional teachers who graduated from music academies and the centers where they began their work, including Stalowa Wola, Mielec, Dębica, Łańcut, Ropczyce, Kolbuszowa, Trzciana, Trzebownisko, and Głogów Małopolski, were recalled. Selected outstanding graduates who perform as soloists and form various music ensembles were also introduced. Thanks to the hard work and motivation for continuous development of many people associated with the accordion in Podkarpacie, it can be said that their work has contributed to the high level of accordion playing in Poland and abroad. Many graduates from this region teach students at music academies and colleges and hold numerous prestigious positions at universities and in arts education.