Frode Andersen

The recordings of accordionist Frode Andersen have spanned contemporary classical repertoire, folk music, and experimental sound art involving electronics. Artistic director of the prestigious Esbjerg Ensemble in Denmark, he's a strong advocate for contemporary music, as reflected in both his concerts and recordings. After his solo debut album, Music for Accordion, appeared in 2000, his next solo release, 2006's Trash, was nominated for a Danish Grammy. In 2021, composer David Lang enlisted Andersen to perform his folk-minded solo accordion score for the film The Village Detective. A native of Askøy, Norway, Frode Andersen studied accordion at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. Released on Dacapo in 2000, his first album, Music for Accordion, consisted of experimental works by composers Simon Christensen, Morten Olsen, Morten Skovgaard Danielsen, and Jexper Holmen. He revisited some of the same composers on 2006's Trash, also on Dacapo. It was nominated for a Danish Grammy Award for best solo performance. All the while touring Europe both as a soloist and with Esbjerg Ensemble, some of Andersen's subsequent recordings included 2010's Oort Cloud, with accordionist Frode Haltli and soprano saxophonist Torben Snekkestad, and 2011's Peter Bruun: Letters to the Ocean, both on Dacapo. In 2019, Gateway Music issued Stemningsmelodier: Musikken Er af Kai Normann Andersen, a collaboration with violinist Hanne Askou. Around this time, Andersen recorded the original solo accordion pieces of composer David Lang for the film The Village Detective, which repurposed recovered footage from a long-lost Soviet film. It received a soundtrack release by Cantaloupe Music in 2021.
© Marcy Donelson /TiVo