Friedrich Lips

He has performed works by Bach, Franck, Granados, Albeniz, Villa-Lobos, Messaien, Couperin, Rameau, Daquin, Liadov, Mussorgsky, Khachaturyan, Kholminov, Zolotaryov, Shchedrin, Zhurbin, Repnikov and Volkov (of whom the last three have dedicated their accordion works to him).

He gave his first solo recital in Magnitogorsk in 1970 and since then has toured widely around the world. He combines concert activities with teaching, and two of his pupils (V Dolgopolov and V Muntyan) are international prizewinners. He arranges various classical works and compiles and edits collections of accordion pieces, participates in international conferences and seminars, and contributes articles to the press.

Friedrich was born in the small town of Yemanzhelinsk in the Urals. His father, a miner, was a dedicated music lover and began to teach his son to play the accordion when he was just five years old. After graduating from the Magnitogorsk Music College, Friedrich continued his studies at the Gnesins Musical Pedagogical Institute in Moscow, where he subsequently took a postgraduate course with S Kolobkov.

At the age of 20, while in his second year at the Gnesins Musical Pedagogical Institute, Friedrich appeared at the International Accordion Competition in Klingenthal. The jury was captivated by his determination, original approach to interpretation, fine sense of style and straightforwardness combined with sincere emotion.