Martynas Levickis likes to call his instrument a “magical box of tricks”. And indeed: when the Lithuanian straps on his accordion and starts to play, he creates truly enchanting soundscapes, his virtuoso play impressive, varied and unexpected. The Independent praised him as “the amazingly talented Martynas Levickis, the man who is single-handedly reinventing the accordion.”

Levickis’ career began in the depths of the Lithuanian woods: at the age of three, he started using his accordion to imitate birdsong and the rushing of the trees. At the age of eight, he was admitted to the S. Sondeckis School of the Arts in his hometown of Šiauliai. Later, he studied under Owen Murray at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Levickis’ meteoric career as ambassador for the accordion quickly gained traction when he won the casting show “Lithuania’s Got Talent” in 2010. In his home country, he became a superstar, proving that both he and his instrument deserved international attention. He was picked up by Decca Classics – the first-ever accordion player to sign a contract with the label – and his debut album “Martynas” immediately shot to number 1 on the British classic charts. His over 30 international awards include a first prize at the Coupe Mondiale World Accordion Championships.

Today, Martynas Levickis is among the world’s most sought-after accordion soloists. Again and again, he is invited to play on the greatest stages with the world’s best acoustics: from the Royal Albert Hall to the Seoul Arts Center, from the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig to the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, from the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts to the Kammerakademie Potsdam, from the Iceland Symphony Orchestra to the Stiftung Mozartmuseum Salzburg. He is welcomed to festivals such as the Heidelberger Frühling, the Istanbul Festival, the Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival or the Rheingau Musik Festival. And he particularly enjoys collaborating with other musicians such as Iveta Apkalna, Benjamin Appl, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Festival Strings Lucerne and Andris Nelsons.

In 2020, Martynas Levickis released his album of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”, and in 2021, he followed this up with Piazzolla’s “Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas” (Accentus Music). In the spring of 2023, he released his solo album “Autograph” (Accentus Music) with works by Philip Glass, J.S. Bach, Franck Angelis as well as with his own compositions of Lithuanian folk songs. The recording prompted OPUS KLASSIK to name Martynas Levickis as “Best Instrumentalist of 2023”. Martynas also showcases his huge musical range in his signature live programme. His repertoire covers an impressive scope of eras and styles: in 2023, for example, Martynas – as “Laureate in Residence” of the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – presented music from five centuries in over 25 concerts.

But his success as a solo artist is only part of what defines Martynas Levickis as a musician. Because he is so much more: educator, organiser, conductor and composer are just some of the roles he seems to master on the side. Levickis founded a composer academy for accordion music and, for several years, he hosted a music festival in Vilnius for said academy. And, together with the Mikroorkéstra, he created an ensemble with which he fills stadiums throughout the Baltic countries with specially devised and produced shows that create an impressive counterpart to his boundless creativity. Levickis also purposefully promotes international accordion newcomers, which is why he was greatly honoured to be named “Visiting Professor” by his Alma Mater, the Royal Academy of Music.

This year, too, Martynas Levickis will undoubtedly inspire countless people to develop a passion for the accordion. In June and July, he played at the televised opening gala of the Grafenegg Festival with Pene Pati, Regula Mühlemann and the Tonkünstler Orchestra, and he also performed at the Rheingau Festival. In August, he debuted at the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and the Nürnberg Klassik Open Air. In September, Martynas gave his first concert at the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele. His ‘24/‘25 season is also set to include concerts with the Duisburger Philharmoniker, at the Philharmonie Essen with the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester and with the Belgrade Chamber Orchestra. This season, Martynas will also collaborate again with Delyana Lazarova, Daniel Geiss and the Kammerakademie Potsdam. So, plenty of opportunities for the magician and his musical box of tricks to enchant his audience anew. 

An ARTE TV film team accompanied Martynas Levickis throughout 2023 and produced a portrait that will be aired in autumn 2024. 

Season 2024/2025