Inaki Alberdi (accordion)

Alone - Erikki Jokinen

Alone - Erikki Jokinen

Cuatro diferencias - Gabriel Erkoreka

De profundis - Sofia Gubaidulina

Tango - Luis de Pablo

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Lluvia - Sofia Martinez

Itzal - Jesus Torres

The accordion's possibilities as a concert instrument are best-known to Irish audiences through the remarkable playing of Dermot Dunne.

Thursday's lunchtime concert in the Bank of Ireland "Mostly Modern" series was a reminder that in some countries, this instrument has a true tradition of concert music.

In the bank's arts centre, the 27-year-old Basque accordionist nake Inaki Alberdi played music written in the last 25 years by Finnish, Spanish and Russian composers.

Alone, by the Finnish composer Erkki Jokinen (b. 1941), explored the instrument's possibilities for contrast - quiet note-clusters versus assertive blocks of sound. A different effect was achieved through the sonorous explorations of Itzal, by the Spaniard Jesus Torres (b. 1965).

Other items on the programme included character pieces evoking non-musical subjects and works designed like a purely musical invention. The most impressive works though were those from the older composers.

These included the ironic Tango by Spain's Luis de Pablo (b. 1930) and the delightful Piazzolla Tango played as an encore.

The most substantial work was De Profundis, written in 1978 by the Soviet-born composer Sofie Gubaidulina (b. 1931). In every piece, Inaki Alberdi was completely persuasive. He is one of those players who is almost as good to watch as to listen to.

The range of volume, the subtle variations of colour and his unfailing authority were mesmerising. While I wondered whether his highly dramatised approach was always appropriate, his musicality and panache carried his audience with him.