site.btaBeing a Musician Is Like a Religion – You Practice It Constantly, Says Accordionist Ksenija Sidorova

Being a musician is like a religion – you practice it constantly, you feel anxious if you don't, accordionist and mother of three Ksenija Sidorova told BTA. On June 19, 2025, she makes her debut at Bulgaria Hall, performing alongside the National Philharmonic Orchestra.

“Being a mother means always being there for your children. Mine are very little. My hands are full. But, of course, I learn to juggle this every day, because how do I learn musically? I wasted a lot of my time before I had kids, and nowadays I think I'm much more efficient with the time, because there is only a limited amount of hours in a day. It teaches you to prioritize, because not everything is as important as we make it seem to ourselves. So, that's the biggest lesson,” she adds.

Under the baton of conductor Michal Nesterowicz, Sidorova will premiere in Bulgaria the Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra by Dobrinka Tabakova, commissioned by the Sofia Philharmonic. The program also includes Beethoven’s Egmont Overture and Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky/Ravel. The concert is part of the 56th edition of the Sofia Music Weeks international festival.

"As much as there has to be discipline in life, ultimately you need freedom to create. Absolutely. Whether it's a freedom of movement, whether it's a freedom of thought, freedom of programming. Because we are not as free as we think we are. There is a system beyond that makes us fall into certain standards in life. And sometimes it's restrictive. ” says Sidorova.

As she talks to BTA’s Dahnyelle Dymytrov, Ksenija Sidorova reflects on the accordion as a “street instrument,” the artists currently inspiring her, whether she knows any Bulgarian accordion makers, as well as her stage presence, motherhood, and music. And more: how did her connection to the accordion begin? How does she pursue her mission to elevate the instrument’s status and redefine how it is perceived? When preparing a concert program, does she think of it as a story the audience should experience?

Following is the full interview.

Your connection with the accordion began at a very early age. How did this relationship start?

It started when I was almost six years old, with my grandmother. She was actually a Russian language and literature teacher, and she plays Garmoshka, which is like a prototype of accordion, folk instrument, just for fun.

She was the one to introduce me to this instrument, and it was fun to play it over the summer.

We found a new hobby: she sang, I played, and we had fun. And later on it turned quite serious when I went to the music school, around seven years old, so it became a very serious passion.

The Accordion Concerto by Dobrinka Tabakova was commissioned by the Sofia Philharmonic. Are there elements in it that reflect your personal musical identity?

I commissioned a lot of works, and I think that I like to let the composer compose the piece without me interfering with the process, because ultimately they are the creator.

And I later on add my own layer of understanding to it, and of course my musical language is probably distinctive to other accordionists or other musicians. So yes, then I add on my layer of input after the piece was written, but not during the process of composing. I am the translator of her ideas to the audience.

You’ve said that the accordion was long seen as a “street instrument”. How is the perception of this instrument changing in classical music today? Do you notice increased interest from composers and audiences?

Absolutely. I actually think that accordion has so many faces that it's still a street instrument, and it will probably always be, because it's portable, unlike the piano or the organ, and it's fully polyphonic, which means you can play the melody, play a complement, so it's a very unique instrument, and I think that those areas will always develop, whether it's a street, folk, classical or pop instrument, the accordion has its place everywhere.

So I think it will develop for sure. Nowadays you can already see the classical accordionists taking over the concert stages in the world, and it's really happening. 

You often say that your mission is to “rehabilitate” the accordion in the eyes of the classical audience. How do you approach that — through repertoire, interpretation, image?

Yes, I think maybe just to give it a little bit more life, that it has the renaissance of the instrument, that it's cool again to play the accordion, because it's really a fascinating instrument. 

I think my main thing is to create programs wisely, and it depends very much on what I play, whether the audience will come back to the concert of any accordion at all again.

For example, when I play a recital, it's much more varied than when I play a concerto, it's only one piece. When I recital, there are different epochs, different countries, different styles of music, and therefore maybe the audience member likes this one or the other one, maybe more than one. So of course, the approach is to wider the scope, the better it is.

When preparing a concert program, do you think of it as a narrative that the audience should experience?

Yes. And it depends very much on the piece. For example, in Sofia it will be a premiere, already exciting. Bulgarian composer, they're a little bit like, okay, let's see, let's see, because it's always difficult to present your works at home, I guess, for a composer. Oh, for accordion, okay, you know, like, so they are coming with this kind of lots of questions. And of course first of all, I need to get the idea through about the piece, what it is about. In this case, it's about machinery, artificial intelligence, and all of that, that's taking over the world.

Yet something very touching as well, because this instrument has a lot of soul. So, well, all the time, that's the main question, what does the audience go away with after they listen? And how do they take it? How do they perceive? 

Your stage presence is very striking – from your choice of clothing to the way you engage with the audience. What is the role of image in contemporary classical performance?

I think nowadays, unfortunately, sometimes image becomes the only thing that's important, and that's not right.

Of course, we have a saying in Russia that you greet someone by the way they look, and you say goodbye to them by the way their intelligence works. Sometimes in art, in music, or in other acting and so on, we look at what the person looks like, but not what they are about. Sometimes there is a lot of substance to them, and sometimes it's emptiness.

In this case, it's unfortunate that there is a lot of panache, but no depth. It's like when you have all the kind of oomph, and you have begun to rush, you have a lot of character, but no depth to it. There is no reason for this.

There is no substance. So I think that it's very important to, most importantly, as I would always say to even people that I tend to teach or give masterclasses to, that you have to look the part. What you look like on stage should not take away attention from what you are playing, because then there is no point.

You are a performer, a musician, and if anyone is just thinking what you are dressed in, the attention is not in the right place. 

Which musicians or artists are currently inspiring you?

Very different, actually, from the people that I work with. For the moment, we have a really close collaboration with Dobrinka, and last month we were together creating this very first performance in Stuttgart and other German cities.

She was very inspirational. I know her as a friend for many, many years, and it's always nice to reconnect. It's nice when you even didn't see a person for so long, but then when you come together, it's like the years didn't get in the way.

It's still the same. I get inspiration from people like that, who are really deep into discussing bigger ideas than life and so on. I get inspiration from artists that I work with, definitely.

One of my biggest… I would say he's not only the stage partner, but also a mentor. It's Avi Avital, the mandolin player. And others, non-music related or non-artists, my family, of course, because when everything is good in the family, you feel inspired.

It's natural. 

Is there a composer from whom you would like to receive a new work for accordion?

I usually don't share my dreams with others, because then I believe that maybe they won't happen. But I can tell you about the forthcoming plans that are already taking place, and the next year is the premiere of Fazil Say's accordion concerto. So that's going to be the next big thing. Fazil Say, Turkish composer.

Are you familiar with any Bulgarian accordion masters?

I've seen some, actually, on YouTube. They're not classical, though. They come from a traditional music style. I can't tell you by name, but I've seen a lot of amazing players here. So, of course, it's always a bit like coming to Bulgaria, where there's a lot of accordionists. It's both exciting and a little bit nervous.

I would never attach the instrument to the regime, because then it suffers for no reason, because it's not guilty of the regime.

What has motherhood taught you about music – and vice versa? Are there moments when the two worlds meet in unexpected ways?

They meet every day for me, because I try to combine the two things, being a musician and being a mother. Being a musician means that your religion is music in a way, and you always, always practice it. You get anxious if you don't. But then being a mother means that you're always there for your kids. Mine are very small.

Six is the oldest, and three and one and a half. So, the hands are full. But, yeah, of course, I learn to juggle this every day, because how do I learn musically? I wasted a lot of my time before I had kids, and nowadays I think I'm much more efficient with the time, because there is only a limited amount of hours in a day.

But, yeah, it teaches you to be more, to prioritize, because not everything is as important as we make it seem to ourselves. So, that's the biggest lesson.

Do your children share your interest in music? Do you see future artists in them?

I would never impose it on them to become musicians. I think I owe it to them to introduce them to music. So, my oldest daughter, she plays the piano now.

She started studying. The other two boys are still too small. I let them enjoy childhood.

And anyway, even if they play an instrument later, which I hope they do, just to get to know what music is about, it does teach you other things than just playing. It teaches you to listen. It teaches you to maybe think bigger.

So, if they choose an instrument, it also teaches you discipline, and that's why I want them to experience that. I think it's what I'd like them to have, but I don't necessarily think they should become musicians. It's only in case they cannot live without music. 

Are you traveling with your whole family when you have concerts?

Not always, but sometimes. Together with the whole family, with a big Excel sheet. Because I don't want to be away from them for too long, and we try to make it work like that. It's complicated, but it's also fun. 

Is there a word that best describes you as a person?

Ooh, good questions. It's very interesting. Just one word that would describe me as a person…  I'd have to think about it… I think I'm naive sometimes. That's number one.

Or gullible, which is okay. I try to believe in better things in life. What would I say? Positively spirited. That's two words, but yeah.

How would you continue the sentence: “I’m a person who loves…”?

Freedom. People need freedom. All of them.

As much as there has to be discipline in life, ultimately you need freedom to create. Absolutely. Whether it's a freedom of movement, whether it's a freedom of thought, freedom of programming. Because we are not as free as we think we are. There is a system beyond that makes us fall into certain standards in life. And sometimes it's restrictive.