Various Composers - Three British Accordion Concertos (Owen Murray)

Information

• Gordon Jacob - Concerto for Chromatic Accordion, Percussion & String Orchestra
• Edward McGuire - Accordion Concerto
• Jonathan Dove - Northern Lights

Owen Murray, accordion

BBC Concert Orchestra

James MacMillan, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: Toccata Next

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The emergence of an original classical repertoire for the accordion is closely associated with pioneering performers such as Mogens Ellegaard and his student Owen Murray, who helped establish the instrument as a serious concert voice. A key milestone was Ellegaard’s 1976 broadcast premiere of Gordon Jacob’s accordion concerto, which treats the instrument with chamber-organ-like refinement within a pastoral idiom. In subsequent decades, new concertos written for Murray expanded the accordion’s expressive and technical possibilities, highlighting its wide tonal palette, dynamic range, and agility within orchestral textures. Together, these developments mark a significant evolution in the accordion’s status from folk and popular traditions to a fully recognized instrument in contemporary classical concert music.

Owen Murray (born 1948) is a British accordionist, educator, and key figure in establishing the accordion as a serious classical concert instrument. Born in Scotland, he developed his early musical career through the Scottish accordion tradition before studying under influential Danish accordionist Mogens Ellegaard at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, graduating in 1982. From 1986, Murray became Head of Classical Accordion at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he founded and developed a pioneering department dedicated to the instrument. He has performed internationally with leading orchestras and at major festivals, while also commissioning and premiering new works that expanded the accordion repertoire. Through his performance, teaching, and advocacy, Murray played a central role in elevating the accordion’s status within contemporary classical music.

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