Capriccio -
Andrzej Krzanowski

is a composition exploring the new timbral possibilities of the accordion through the use of acoustic beats generated in the instrument's highest register. The alternating generation of a continuous high tone of any length, overlapping sound bands, and stereophonic repetitions is reminiscent of the electronic music that in the late 1970s came gradually closer to Krzanowski's interests. According to the composer, "Capriccio has been composed in the rondo form, where the refrain is a multiplication of tritones, while the episodes are dominated by successions of seconds and sevenths." On many button accordions, the beat effects proposed by Krzanowski are hardly achievable, hence modern performances often lack this interesting phenomenon.

The first performance took place at the 1983 Musica festival in Strasbourg, where Krzanowski befriended Yvonne and Andrew Lobstein, to whom the work is dedicated.

Grażyna Krzanowska