23-year-old Martynas Levickis has made history by becoming the first accordionist to reach the top of the classical album charts.
A former Accordion World Cup champion who won Lithuania's Got Talent (while studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London, no less), going number one against such stiff competition is quite the achievement.
Levickis' self-titled debut--well, just Martynas--was released by Decca on July 1.
Levickis had this to say for himself: "The accordion has never received so much attention in the U.K. in one week! I believe it's because my album is breaking through to people's hearts, and its music speaks for itself. It's the music that one could never expect to hear on accordion, and I am very happy for everyone now to be able to hear it in this way."
A curious collection, Martynas is an album where Bach and Vivaldi play next to an arrangement of Lady Gaga's "Telephone"--which, in turn, leads to tangos, gypsy dances and classic French movie themes.
And speaking of YouTube, his weekly #SundaySqueeze series is equally eclectic--covering chart-topping hits, themselves, from the likes of Psy, Pink, Robin Thicke and Daft Punk.
Regarding his latest cash cow, Paul Moseley, managing director of Decca Classics said, "Martynas is a talented and charming young man on a mission. This is just the start. Classical accordion is set to be the sound of the summer."
Be that as it may, Classicalite would take Pauline Oliveros over Martynas Levickis any day.
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