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. 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 passion for exploration and deep engagement with concert audiences, a curatorial initiative well in tune with the artistic stewardship of the Arditti Quartet and the American Wind Symphony.
Mr. Petric began his concerto-led career with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jukka Pekka Saraste 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'.
Mr Petric's scholarship resonates with discoveries including Giovanni Gagliardi’s ignored 1911 treatise Manualetto del Fisharmonicista, the first confirmation of the origins of the concert accordion in the literature and 34 instrument designs and patents 1900-60. Invited in the 35th year of an uninterrupted concert career to a professorship created for him, he leads the graduate performance department, Faculté de Musique, Université de Montréal (Québec),
Mr. Petric plays a bespoke instrument modelled on the 1910 Italian Camerano built by Canadian master Leo Niemi, 1996 in Sudbury, Ontario.He considers Hugo Noth and period keyboardist Colin Tilney (1933-2024) his masters.
Mr Petric lives in Upper Canada, Montreal and on the old Ionian coast.
NEWS
NEW RELEASE - Accordion Dialogues and the Poetics of an Interpretive Art Augemus Press, Essen, Germany. available at www.Augemus.de
RECORDINGs UPCOMING - Iberian sonatas by Casanovas, Galles, Albeniz, Soler and Scarlatti, ASTRILA label.
PERFORMANCE - Mahler's 4th Symphony, Chamber version with the Penderecki Quartet, Pentaedre Quintet and Friends, March 15, 3.00 p.m. Kitchener-Waterloo, Maureen Forrester Concert Hall.
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.