Versatility for piano and accordion
The 30 original compositions for piano or accordion in Marion Suter's new music book are extremely varied. Accordion players will find it advantageous to put a little more work into adapting them.
The Schwyz pianist Marion Suter comes from a "family of country musicians". She studied classical piano with a focus on folk music at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and graduated with a master's degree in music education for piano. With her latest publication, she aims to fill a "piano literature gap" in the field of Swiss folk music. She presents 30 original compositions (22 solos and 8 two-part works with separate accompaniment), suitable for both piano and accordion, in her Sheet music book. (She has recorded part of it on the CD Pianist Marion Suter Vol. 2 recorded).
The work offers a wide range of character, harmonic-melodic and rhythmic versatility. It contains romantic, round-sounding ballads, groovy, swinging, jazzy pieces, but also dances rooted in Swiss folk music. I would rate the level of difficulty as "very advanced".
As an accordionist, I like to think outside the box, which is why I ventured to write this review. As far as transferring the pieces to my instrument is concerned, I am a little reluctant, or rather I realized that one or the other would have to be adjusted accordingly. I would like to mention the many closely spaced chords, which do not sound ideal on the accordion, as the tone remains stationary and does not fade away automatically as it does on the piano. In addition, some works require a very wide range, e.g. very high registers for the right hand, but also for the left hand (standard bass), due to the choice of sometimes rather unfamiliar keys. Accordion players are therefore challenged to find an optimal version for their instrument by using appropriate registers, thinning out chords or even octaving individual parts - without losing sight (and ears) of their respect for these successful compositions.
The 8 musical treasures with separate accompaniment deserve special attention. They provide a wealth of scoring variations. Both individual parts can easily be played by string or wind instruments. However, a version with an accordion with melody bass and piano for the accompaniment part is also conceivable.
Marion Suter: Sheet music book, 30 original compositions for piano or accordion, Fr. 40.00, self-published marionsuter.ch
