I don’t recall when I first heard Guy Klucevsek but I think it was the early 90s. I grew up hearing a great deal of accordions in polka bands at weddings throughout my childhood. This instrument had, pretty much since its beginnings in the early 19th century, been associated primarily with folk bands and not at all with classical music. I don’t think one can find an accordion used in a classical orchestra before Tchaikovsky’s 1822 Second Orchestral Suite and only sparingly after that. So when I discovered this New York musician via his releases on the Starkland label, Transylvanian Software (1999) and Free Range Accordion (2000) and the CRI disc Manhattan Cascade (1992). I was curious to see what this musician would do with this traditionally “low brow” folk instrument.

I had come to trust the Starkland label (which began in 1991) as one whose releases were usually very much to my taste and I was not disappointed to hear Klucevsek’s playing of pieces written by him and other composers for this instrument. Unlike Pauline Oliveros who did much to expand the very nature of the instrument itself, Klucevsek retained, and sometimes parodied, the humble folk/pop origins and reputation of the instrument while still pursuing its possibilities in the New York downtown experimental music scene where he worked with people like Laurie Anderson, Bang On a Can, Brave Combo, Anthony Braxton, Anthony Coleman, Dave Douglas, Bill Frisell, Rahim al Haj, Robin Holcomb, Kepa Junkera, the Kronos Quartet, Natalie Merchant, Present Music, Relâche, Zeitgeist, and John Zorn among many others. Klucevsek expanded the role of the accordion in his own way.

Klucevsek later put together a commissioning project called, “Polka from the Fringe” (1992), a project which echoes the 1981 “Waltz Project” by Robert Moran and presages another accordionist William Schimmel’s “The Tango Project” of 2006. All of these commissioning projects utilized dance forms common in the 20th century as a “stepping off” place for a new musical piece. And it was Starkland which rescued the fascinating two disc release of Polka from the Fringe (2013) from over two decades languishing in “out of print” status. These projects are significant in that they invite composers to get out of their comfort zone and demonstrate their take on the given dance form. Like Klucevsek’s earlier releases this Polka collection is a veritable Who’s Who of working composers of the era much as the Variations (1819) project of Anton Diabelli collected some 51 composers’ works based on Diabelli’s waltz-like theme (Beethoven’s gargantuan set of variations was published as volume 1 and the other 50 variations in volume 2 which included composers like Schubert and Liszt).

So here comes Starkland to the rescue again in this (languished for some 25 years after only having been available for two years) very personal recording which displays Klucevsek’s substantial compositional chops as well as his knowledge and use of extended instrumental techniques for his instrument. It presents pieces written for a dance performances and shows a very different side of Klucevsek, one which shows more of his substance as a composer alongside his virtuosic skills on his instrument. In this digital only release there is an option to include (for a mere $3.00 more on the Bandcamp site) a series of 13 videos featuring Guy Klucevsek talking about the music on this album and his various musical interests. A gorgeous 10 page booklet providing further detail including the original liner notes with updates is included in all purchases. The album will also be available on Spotify, You Tube, and other streaming services but the videos are only available on Bandcamp.

Listeners may find this new release has some in common with Starkland’s previous Klucevsek release from Starkland, “Teetering on the Verge of Normalcy” (2016) which features some similar compositional diversity in a disc entirely of Klucevsek’s works. The line from Citrus, My Love to Teetering on the Edge of Normalcy seems to be a logical succession in Klucevsek’s compositional development. In addition to his accordion studies Klucevsek studied composition in Pittsburgh but it was the influence of Morton Subotnick with whom he studied in his independent post graduate work at the California Institute of the Arts that exposed this east coast artist to some of the splendors of the west coast encountering artists like Terry Riley and Pauline Oliveros. Indeed Klucevsek can be said to be “bi-coastal” in his compositional endeavors. And though this is a “tongue in cheek” characterization it does speak to the roots of Klucevsek’s diversity in style.

There are 12 tracks on “Citrus, My Love” representing 3 separate works: the three movement, “Passage North” (1990), the single movement, “Patience and Thyme” (1991), and the eponymous, “Citrus, My Love” (1990) in 8 movements. The production of this album is by none other than Bobby Previte, another valued east coast musician and colleague. The notes have been updated under the guidance of Tom Steenland with input from Klucevsek who, understandably, expresses great joy in having this album available again.

The first three tracks are dedicated to a single work, “Passage North” (1990) written for accordion and string trio consisting of Mary Rowell, violin/viola, Erik Friedlander, cello, and Jonathan Storck, double bass. They are dubbed “The Bantam Orchestra”. This Copland-esque work was commissioned by Angela Caponigro Dance Ensemble. The second movement is for string trio alone and is dedicated to the memory of Aaron Copland who died in 1990.

Patience and Thyme (1991) according to the composer “is a love note to my wife, Jan.” He composed the work while in residence at the Yellow Springs Institute in Pennsylvania, which coincided with his 22nd wedding anniversary. It is scored for piano and string trio, no accordion. Compositionally it seems at home between the larger pieces.

Citrus, My Love was commissioned by Stuart Pimsler for the dance of the same name. It is in 8 scenes and is scored for Klucevsek’s accordion accompanied by his personally chosen Bantam Orchestra. Klucevsek describes the music on this album as representing his transition from hard core minimalism to a more melody driven style and this is the missing link, the “hole” to which I referred in the Beatles metaphor in the title of this review.

For those who already appreciate Klucevsek’s work this album is a must have. To those who have not gotten to know this unique talent this is a good place to start.

For those seeking to get more deeply into Klucevsek’s work (a worthwhile endeavor) and to provide a perspective on the range of this artist’s work I’m appending a discography (shamelessly lifted and updated from the Free Reed Journal) :

SOLOIST/LEADER

Scenes from a Mirage (Review)
Who Stole the Polka? (out-of-print)
Flying Vegetables of the Apocalypse (Experimental Intermedia)
Polka Dots & Laser Beams (out-of-print)
Manhattan Cascade (CRI)
Transylvanian Softwear (Starkland)
Citrus, My Love (Starkland)
Stolen Memories (Tzadik)
Altered Landscapes (out-of-print)
Accordance with Alan Bern (Winter & Winter)
Free Range Accordion (Starkland)
The Heart of the Andes (Winter & Winter)
Tales from the Cryptic with Phillip Johnston (Winter & Winter)
Notefalls with Alan Bern (Winter & Winter)
Song of Remembrance (Tzadik)
Dancing On the Volcano (Tzadik)
The Multiple Personality Reunion Tour (Innova)
Polka From The Fringe (Starkland)
Teetering On the Verge of Normalcy (Starkland)

COMPILATIONS

Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach, Who Gets the Guy?, This Guy’s in Love With You (Tzadik)
Planet Squeezebox, The Grass, It Is Blue, Ellipsis Arts
Legends of Accordion, Awakening (Rhino)
The Composer-Performer, Samba D Hiccup (CRI)
Koroshi No Blues, Sukiyaki Etoufee, Maki Gami Koechi (Toshiba EMI)
Norwegian Wood, Monk’s Intermezzo, Aki Takahashi (Toshiba EMI)
Music by Lukas Foss, Curriculum Vitae (CRI)
Here and Now, Oscillation No. 2, Relache (Callisto)
A Haymish Groove, Transylvanian Softwear (Extraplatte)
A Confederacy of Dances, Vol. I. Sylvan Steps (Einstein)
A Classic Guide to No Man’s Land, Samba D Hiccup (No Man’s Land)

WITH JOHN ZORN

The Big Gundown (Nonesuch Icon)
Cobra (Hat Art)
Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill, Der Kleine Leutnant Des Lieben Gottes (A&M)

WITH RELACHE

On Edge (Mode)
Open Boundaries, Parterre (Minnesota Composers Forum McKnight Recording)
Pauline Oliveros: The Well and The Gentle (Hat Art)

WITH OTHERS

Laurie Anderson: Bright Red (Warner Bros)
Anthony Braxton: Four Ensemble Compositions, 1992(Black Saint)
Mary Ellen Childs: Kilter (XI)
Anthony Coleman: Disco by Night (Avante)
Nicolas Collins: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night (Trace Elements)
Fast Forward: Same Same (XI)
Bill Frisell: Have A Little Faith (Elektra Musician)
David Garland: Control Songs (Review)
Robin Holcomb: Rockabye (Elektra Musician)
Guy Klucevsek/Pauline Oliveros: Sounding/Way, private cassette release (out-of-print)
Orchestra of Our Time: Virgil Thomson, Four Saints in Three Acts (Nonesuch)
Bobby Previte: Claude’s Late Morning (Gramavision)