Accordions make sweet sounds for romance, harness erotic desire for the tango and pump up the beat for polka. Milwaukee bayan accordionist Stas Venglevski can play in all those keys, but also has other ambitions. On his latest CD, the Russian-born musician stretches his digits around a repertoire of classical music. He begins with fleet-fingered renditions of Mozart and Bach, moves through the 20th century with Heitor Villa-Lobos and Ernesto Nazareth and ends with contemporary composers such as Milwaukee’s Mark Mantel and Yehuda Yannay. On Today & Yesterday, Venglevski conquers the anxiety-ridden chords of the modern and postmodern worlds in sonic territory reminiscent of Guy Klucevsek.
