Accordionist

As the 2023 award winner in residence, Martynas Levickis has won the hearts of the audience with his accordion. Now he's returning for his Advent visit, bringing music from Bach to Glass , among others, to Schwiessel, alongside his own compositions.

Martynas Levickis solo

Schloss Schwiessel

Some of Leonardo da Vinci's inventions and studies have remained hidden from humanity or been forgotten – like his idea of ​​a portable organ. It wasn't until 1964 that a manuscript containing sketches surfaced in Madrid. According to these sketches, the 15th-century Italian polymath was working on a concept for a type of organetto (diatonic accordion). This was a revolutionary discovery, considering that the accordion's physical precursors were only dated to the beginning of the 19th century. However, there are no sources that prove that such an instrument based on da Vinci's ideas was ever built and used in practice. 500 years later, the charismatic, passionate musician Martynas Levickis pays homage to Leonardo da Vinci's early vision and invites the audience in the Old Parish Church to take a musical journey through his beloved instrument, from its origins as a secret prototype to its present form.

Martynas Levickis

Old Parish

What does this calculation result in: 60 fingers plus 270 keys plus 600 buttons plus virtuosity times six? Clearly, it's a more than explosive mixture of sounds. Martynas Levickis's trademark is to seek out musical partnerships where the sonic distance from the accordion is as great as possible. But with the Ensemble Axos, he relies entirely on his own family of instruments. He founded the ensemble with five outstanding accordion colleagues, and together they demonstrate how easily a six-piece can compete with even a large orchestra. If an accordion on its own already has a seemingly endless palette of colors up its sleeve, then this special six-pack delivers even more beguiling sonic surprises. In the Johann Strauss year, Martynas Levickis and his Ensemble Axos will embark on this unique evening into the wonderful world of dance, bringing everything from the Baltic Sea to Vienna and the Balkans to the Rheingau that goes straight from the ears to the legs.

Martynas Levickis, accordion ensemble AXOS

Schloss Johannisberg

From baroque to tango - music by Corelli, Mendelssohn, Piazzolla, Nyman and others.

Accordion explosive

Stadtwerke Kiel

St.Johns church Meldorf

It seems as if the accordion is the true king of versatility. Whether folk, classical, or baroque – it can be used for a wide variety of styles and timbres, but especially for one musical genre: the tango. So, when we turn our focus to Martynas Levickis and his multifaceted instrument, we cannot fail to look to Argentina, the motherland of the tango. It is the homeland of Astor Piazzolla, who, along with the tango, brought the accordion into the concert halls. For Martynas Levickis, it is self-evident that Piazzolla and his Tango Nuevo belong there, confidently defying European classical music. So, together with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Susanne von Gutzeit, he ignites a musical firework display in the idyllic Eberbach cloister, celebrating the tango, Argentina, and South American temperament.

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Argentine Night

Eberbach Abbey

Fiery passion has a name in music history: Carmen! Georges Bizet's opera has become a musical synonym for love, joie de vivre, and fatalism – and for the rapturous enthusiasm for Spain that gripped all of Paris from the mid-19th century onward. The accordion, in turn, is France's secret voice of the heart and is closely intertwined with French savoir-vivre, with valse musette, and the blend of lightness and melancholy. When our featured artist Martynas Levickis and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen immerse themselves in this Spanish-French world, what naturally belongs together comes together.

Martynas Levickis, accordion The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen Omer Meir Wellber, conductor

Friedrich-von-Thiersch-Saal

From his beginnings as a highly gifted student of Yehudi Menuhin to his work as a festival and ensemble director and his diverse activities as an author, presenter, and celebrated violinist, Daniel Hope is a true entertainer. Our featured artist this year, Martynas Levickis, can also call himself one: playing his accordion, he impresses audiences on international stages with his versatility and captivating presence. Together, in this exclusive line-up, they take to the newly acquired stage of the Oberursel Stadthalle in the neighboring Taunus region. With their unusual combination of instruments, the two exceptional musicians present a select program on violin and accordion, ranging from Dmitri Shostakovich to Pablo de Sarasate to Béla Bartók, promising extraordinary sounds from the familiar to the unheard.

Martynas Levickis, accordion Daniel Hope, violin

Stadthalle GmbH Oberursel (Taunus)

Two from completely different worlds? So what! The greatest possible tension is known to create the most electrifying thrill. Martynas Levickis – the Lithuanian accordion superstar, who is shaking up the classical music scene as a cross-border artist – and Iveta Apkalna – the Latvian titular organist of Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie – may approach each other from different musical spheres, but their art is closely related in origin: the sounds they create on their instruments are literally born of air. That's why they harmonize so brilliantly and yet are so charged with tension when Martynas Levickis and Iveta Apkalna embark on a musical journey together, bridging times and worlds with great aplomb.

Martynas Levickis, accordion Iveta Apkalna, organ

Evangelical Ring Church Congregation

As dusk slowly sets in outside, the Reinhard Ernst Museum in Wiesbaden opens its doors once again for a very special museum visit: Under the motto "Music meets Art", our focus artist Martynas Levickis, together with other musicians on electric guitar, bass, and DJ booth, presents electronic sounds fused with tango music. From a stage in the open part of the museum, the music spreads throughout the rooms as the audience wanders through the building. Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, depending on your position, you can hear the music while marveling at the museum's collection of abstract works - a symbiosis of two art forms that share much in common at their core, but are quite different in their outward form and, when combined, enable new dimensions of reception. It is a concept that opens both ears and eyes and is a game for the senses that can be experienced for the first time in this form.

A Night @ The Museum

Musée Reinhard Ernst

"I like unusual places," says Martynas Levickis. We say: Then come on in to one of our most unusual festival locations! Anyone who has experienced the almost mystical atmosphere of the Eberbach Hospitalkeller will be drawn back again and again. The sublime walls, with the character of a distinctive wine cellar, breathe the almost 900-year history of the monastery. In this place, Martynas Levickis, whose extraordinary soundscapes we are only too happy to focus on in 2025, follows in the footsteps of the Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci. In addition to discovering great technical possibilities, he is said to have also been interested in the development of musical instruments, as evidenced by drawings of an organetto, a portable organ that can be considered a forerunner of the accordion. In this concert, Martynas Levickis invites you to embark on a musical journey into the dream world of Leonardo da Vinci and discover the accordion from its origins as a secret prototype to its present character.

“Da Vinci's Dream”

Accordion star Martynas Levickis travels across the Atlantic and back to Europe. His Lithuanian roots connect him to Philip Glass and Aaron Copland, and his fascination with jazz with George Gerswhin. For his musical journey to North America, he has the perfect partners: the New York ensemble The Knights, led by brothers Colin and Eric Jacobsen. They are enthusiastic about playing and experimenting, and just like Martynas Levickis, they love to blend classical music with folk and jazz elements to create exciting programs. The focus is on Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, one of the first works to make jazz suitable for the concert hall. Today, it's an absolute classic!

Accordionist

Martynas Levickis

Events

Upcoming events

Apr 13, 2026

The Knights / Martynas Levickis · Elbphilharmonie

Past events

Dec 3, 2025

Martynas Levickis solo · Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Sep 14, 2025

Martynas Levickis · Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele

Future and recently performed repertoire

Accordion in Carmen by Bizet

Rheingau Musik Festival

Accordion in Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso by Saint-Saëns

Rheingau Musik Festival

About

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