“It needed to be something special to cap off a splendid Utzon Series at Sydney Opera House and Latvian piano accordionist Ksenija Sidorova delivered in spades. Starting off with some JS Bach – the Ouverture from Overture in the French Style from Part II of his Clavier-Übung – Sidorova highlighted the subtleties of this work from the majestic, ceremonious slow opening to the fast and furious fugue with its intricate dovetailed treble and bass lines, here fingered faultlessly with the keys of her right hand and buttons of her left. While all this was going on Sidorova was controlling the dynamic by precise use of the bellows, making for a highly nuanced reading of this lovely organ work. […] As an encore she brought the house down with Piazzolla’s motoric Libertango complete with finger clicks, drumming on the bellows and some swirling runs on both the keys and buttons”.

“Ksenija Sidorova’s ​“Russian Accordion” program was yet another great discovery. The Latvian-born musician, with a runway model allure, an easily engaging personality, the storytelling skills of a practiced actress, and a virtuosity that enables her to turn her weighty instrument into something of a full orchestra, instantly banished any cringe-worthy memories of old Lawrence Welk Show polka players. Her repertoire is bold and out of the ordinary – with works by such modern Russian composers as Kusyskov, Arkhipovsky and Voitenko, along with pieces by Bach, a tango by Stravinsky transposed for accordion, and a quirky little piece by Alfred Schnittke inspired by a Gogol story.”

“Sidorova played the part expertly, with fluent, fluid technique, and featuring stylistic elements associated with bandoneón, in terms of expressive nuance, including subtle techniques like a particular left-hand bellows vibrato, sounding characteristic of bandoneón playing.”

“Sidorova played with verve, style, and attitude, as well as impeccable virtuosity and an amazing dynamic range. Her music-making included a considerable amount of showmanship, as if she were creating performance art, not just playing an instrument. In the panoramic, multi-movement Autumnal Sceneries by Anatoly Kusyakov, Sidorova continued to display the startling timbral potential of her instrument: amazing richness and fullness of sound, with an unexpected array of colors. It was a dazzling cap to one of the most purely enjoyable musical events of the season.”

“The boldness of Sidorova’s concept, the thoroughness with which she and her colleagues deconstructed the original and the flights of improvisation that peppered the performance made this a singular experience. … It was the musicianship of her playing that left the deepest impression during her Ravinia debut. … The way Sidorova shaped her phrases, toyed with her tempos and shaded her tone colors made even the most understated gestures satisfying to hear. … In all, a tour de force of imagination, instrumentation and improvisation.”

“… the glorious Latvian accordion player Ksenija Sidorova and the versatile Thomas Gould, whose violin playing reaches the parts few others do, gave a short recital at the intimate 1901 Arts Club, near London’s Waterloo station. Works ranging from Bach to Schnittke demonstrated the exotic colours of both instruments, which sounded at their Gypsy-like best in Bartók’s Romanian folk dances and Monti’s Csárdás. Piazzolla’s Café 1930, from Histoire du Tango, had a luxuriant, sexy melancholy. Gould and Sidorova, sparks flying, introduced each piece. The audience chuckled and cheered in response. This is the second time this year I have raved about a squeezebox player after a lifetime’s silence on the entire topic. Something is stirring in the bellows-driven, free-reed aerophone undergrowth. Simplest formats are the most revealing, starting with Orpheus and his lyre. These two young musicians showed what they can do, and what can be done, with their instruments. In so doing, they repurified our cluttered world of ordered sound.”

“Before you say a word, Latvia’s Ksenija Sidorova takes them out of your mouth: ​“It will be a while before the phrase ​‘I play the classical accordion’ doesn’t sound unusual or funny.” Her determination to extend the instrument’s reputation from its folk roots is formidable. She studied at London’s Royal Academy of Music and has won numerous prizes. You can see why. Technique and phrasing in Mozart’s 12 Variations on ​“Ah, vous dirais-je, Maman” are subtle and witty. Her chosen repertoire embraces Nordheim, Bach, Berio, Scarlatti, Schnittke, Takahashi and (with the Sacconi Quartet) some smokily beguiling Piazzolla, all played with light, shade, delicacy – and breathtaking virtuosity.”

“The accordion’s sound world is characterful but somewhat constrained. It needs a virtuoso such as the young Latvian Sidorova to show just how flexible the instrument can be…In transcriptions of Bach, Scarlatti and Mozart, Sidorova is simply brilliant and staggeringly precise.”

“Anybody disinclined to take the accordion seriously as a classical instrument should listen to the opening track here…[the Nordheim and Berio] are advertisements for the accordion’s expressive potential, mining its virtuosic possibilities…a debut recording full of panache and communicative musicianship.”