Serbian master-apprentice duo to dazzle Hotel Phoenicia

The concertina family of instruments has produced some of the most melodic and versatile bellow instruments in history. The piano-accordion and the bandoneon were both developed in Germany in the nineteenth century, but while the former became one of the most popular instruments all over Europe, the bandoneon established itself firmly in South America.

It was through the bandoneon that the legendary Astor Piazzolla gave a new life to Argentine Tango in the mid twentieth century.

Double Digit Productions will be bringing to Malta two of the most accomplished players to give two unique concerts on September 22 and 23 at the ballroom of the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana.

Aleksander Nikolic is perhaps the finest bandoneon player of the moment.

Born in 1973, Aleksander has won numerous prestigious awards and has transported the sounds of Astor Piazzolla across the world.

He is the founder of the Belgrade tango association and the art director of the Belgrade international tango festival. Aleksander was in Malta in February of this year as the leader of the Beltango quartet that gave two brilliant performances at the Manoel Theatre.

Speaking about the upcoming concert, Nikolic promised audiences will be privy to "an unusual blend of two seemingly similar but quite different instruments" from the 'accordion family'.

"This will be a blend of the past and the future - the two of us, having had a teacher-student relationship for the past couple of years, will present something that will doubtlessly have an unforgettable energy, and we look forward to transmitting it to the world over."

The concert will mark Nikolic's second visit to Malta, following his participation in the successful Colores del Tango event at the Manoel Theatre some months back.

"I hope that we'll manage to entice the audience to enjoy our concert once again."

Petar Marić was born in Belgrade in 1990 and is currently one of the world's greatest young accordion artists.

In October 2010, he won the accordionist World Cup (Coupe Mondiale), the most prestigious accordion competition organized by the International Federation of Accordionists (Confederation Internationale des Accordeonistes), with a tradition of 63 years.

Now putting together their talents, Petar Maric and Aleksander Nikolic have successfully launched their CD and concert tour entitled Buttons & Bellows finally together, which has already been very well received in Germany and the Czech Republic.

The two fantastic players amazed the audience with the unique combination of Bandoneon and Accordion and the special collaboration between professor and student.

The concerts will start at 20:00. Tickets at €25 and €20 can be purchased in the Embassy Shopping Complex, Valletta and online through Ticketline.com.mt website. More information on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoubleDigitProductions/events.