Joseph Petric reimagining the accordion
The Artist
An interpreter of 'music so diverse, so bold, so alive you're frightened to forget it' (Coda, USA) Joseph Petric began his uninterrupted 35 year solo career with an official London debut recital acclaimed by The Independent while his American debut merited a citation in “Performances of the Year” by the Washington Post’s Joseph D. McLellan. Mr. Petric's trajectory across the Classical concert hall includes solo appearances at Seiji Ozawa Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Bunkai Kaikan and Walt Disney Hall. His 360 commissioned works reflect his quest to engage with concert audiences, a curatorial initiative well in tune with the artistic stewardship of the Arditti Quartet and the American Wind Symphony.
Mr. Petric's concerto debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jukka Pekka Saraste began his concerto-led career that included a historic performance of three concertos in one evening with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with Pauline Oliveros, Witold Lutoslawski, John Cage, David Tudor, Penderecki Quartet, Pentaedre, IRCAM, London Southbank, the Canadian Electronic Ensemble, Montreal's MnMFestival, SMCQ and 'le NEM'. His masters were Hugo Noth and the late harpsichordist Colin Tilney (1933-2024).
Complementary to the prevailing narrative Mr Petric's scholarship revived the accordion's essentialist permanence introducing Giovanni Gagliardi’s forgotten 1911 treatise Manualetto del Fisharmonicista to an international readership, the first documentation of the origins of the concert accordion in the literature, and a dynamic interpretive and instrument design art 1900-60 forgotten by anti-historical fetish and manufactured pioneering. He mentors informed interpretation in the graduate performance program, Faculté de Musique, Université de Montréal (Québec),
Mr.Petric plays a bespoke instrument modelled on the 1910 Ancona Camerano built by Canadian master Leo Niemi, 1996 in Sudbury, Ontario.
He lives in Upper Canada, Montreal and on the old Ionian coast.
NEWS
IN MEMORIAM - Daniel Foley 1952-2025 - composer, teacher, New Music Concerts archivist, respected copyist, passed away suddenly on December 2, 2025. His lifelong fascination with the accordion medium began in 1977 with strategic additions to the canon in four masterworks of unique instrumental combinations including St. George Blues 1984 for vla. (Doug Perry) and acc.,, followed by his Hommage Series with Hommage a Monet 1977 (microtonal pno, acc., string trio), Hommage a Kandinsky 1983 (cello, acc., pno., perc.,) and Hommage a Klee 1985 (acc., vla, vibraphone), all works recorded for Cd release (ConAccord) or CBC's Two New Hours. A memorial service is planned in early 2026, details to be made available through the Canadian Music Centre.
NEW RELEASE - Accordion Dialogues and the Poetics of an Interpretive Art Augemus Press, Essen, Germany. available at www.Augemus.de
RECORDING - January 2026 - Iberian sonatas by Casanovas, Galles, Albeniz, Soler and Scarlatti, ASTRILA label.
NEXT TITLE - 2025-26 - Research, manuscript preparation - for pending Augemus Press publication, An Invitation to Roundness - Gnosis in light of Modernism.
Updates, Universite de Montreal
The final masters recital by doctoral candidate Julius Schepansky was awarded the status of "Exceptional Recital" and a citation for the Prix du President by jury unanimity. A first year doctoral performance candidate, he has given solo performances at Montreal's Lichtenstein Hall, Salle Serge Garant, and performances of works by Viola with the Hamilton Philharmonic, and Snezana Nezic with Montreal's Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, conductor Jean-Michael Lavoie. Future concerts include solo appearances at the Essen Philharmonie 2026 with world and EU premieres, and five world premieres for the UofT New Music Festival 2027.
Lutosławski – Dance Preludes (1954)
Joseph Petric gratefully acknowledges the generous support of:
...External Affairs Canada, The Svenska Reikskonzerter and the late Toronto philanthropist Roger Moore.