Think the accordion's only good for weddings and polka dances? Guy Klucevsek and Alan Bern -- two of America's most accomplished and open-minded accordionists -- will convince you otherwise when they stop by the Warhol.

Of Slovenian heritage, Klucevsek has considerable history in Western Pennsylvania. Though born in New York City in 1947, by the age of 12 he was living in Springdale, and studying with New Kensington-based teacher Walter Grabowski the "free bass" method, which dispenses with the chordal limitations of a standard accordion.

"The instrument I have now is a hybrid," he explains. "You hit a switch, and the chord buttons become notes arranged chromatically. It's more like a piano -- you can play single notes, melodic lines, and clusters, making the left hand a completely equal partner to the right."

He attended college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and received his masters degree from the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Music, while working as a teaching assistant for Nathan Davis (who introduced his impressionable pupil to Mingus and Coltrane) and absorbing the genius of composer Morton Subotnick, who had a residency there in 1969-70. "Through [Subotnick], I first heard Terry Riley's 'Rainbow in Curved Air' and Steve Reich's 'Come Out,' " he recalls, "which made me want to become a composer. What I remember about Pittsburgh was going to see the symphony. I got a student subscription, so I went every week and was introduced to a high level of musicianship." Much later in 1988, Klucevsek returned to Oakland to appear on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" at WQED. "Fred Rogers was a subscriber to Keyboard magazine," he explains, "and read an article I wrote on regional accordion styles, so he had me come and demonstrate it as a classical instrument. Which was great, because as a teenager I used to watch his show just for Johnny Costa's jazz."

In the late 1970s, Klucevsek moved to New York's off-Broadway theater and dance scene, playing at La Mama and the Open Eye. Later, he found his way into Broadway productions of "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Victor/Victoria," and into the realm of John Williams' film soundtracks for "Munich" and "The Terminal" (he'll work on the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones saga in April).

He became familiar with the downtown free-improv/avant-garde community, over the years working with musicians such as Anthony Braxton, Dave Douglas and Laurie Anderson. In 1985, he met John Zorn and became part of the original lineup for Zorn's Cobra game piece with Bill Frisell and Zeena Parkins. "The press became aware that the culture below 14th Street was becoming important, so they started sending regular critics to downtown events," he recalls. "I gave a concert at the Kitchen, and nobody knew who I was yet, but I still got reviews in the Voice and the New York Times."

Klucevsek also joined Relâche (Philadelphia's pioneering counterpart to the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble) for a 10-year span, becoming well-versed with the European repertoire for avant-garde pieces composed for accordion -- a niche first carved out in the 1930s by Danish accordionist Mogens Ellegaard. "At its beginning, [Relâche] was just a collective of composers -- we would just play the pieces ourselves. Over time, it grew to be a repertory ensemble with dedicated composers and performers."

He drew from Sweden, Slovenia and Austria in 1996 to create a squeezebox supergroup called Accordion Tribe, who toured Europe extensively, released three albums, and were the subject of a widely screened documentary called "Music Travels" by filmmaker Stefan Schweitert. "He specializes in music," says Klucevsek, "and his films have a following of their own, so we've been able to find a new audience among filmgoers."

A different, stateside version of Accordion Tribe -- including Amy Denio, Pauline Oliveros and Alan Bern -- led to his other current project, the fantastic duo with Bern, which has produced two CDs, 2001's "Accordance" and last year's "Notefalls." As the leader, composer and accordionist for progressive klezmer legends Brave Old World, Bern is a formidable force in his own right, yet the duo operates in a complementary fashion.

"Alan's a brilliant improviser in several different styles -- klezmer, New Music, jazz, blues -- and I'm more of a notated music guy, but in many of my pieces I allow spaces for him to stretch out, while in his pieces he allows us to jam together a bit," explains Klucevsek. "So maybe 25 percent of the pieces have that aesthetic, and the other 75 percent are traditionally notated works.

"Alan has an encyclopedic knowledge of music from Eastern Europe, so he not only plays what I've written on the page, but also all the ornamentation that goes with that style.

"There's nothing I can write that Alan wouldn't be able to play, and we enjoy the hell out of being together," he enthuses. "The duo gives him a chance to write things from his classical background, while giving me a chance to play from a world music perspective, so it's as if we're swapping identities."

What's it like up there on stage with nothing but two accordions to keep your attention? "Someone who just heard our concert in Staten Island said it was the equivalent of taking a rapid trip around the world," continues Klucevsek with influences from the Balkans, New Music, Latin America, Tex-Mex, Americana and klezmer.

The current Wikipedia entry on the accordion observes that modern indie-rock bands such as the Decemberists, Arcade Fire and Gogol Bordello have turned to the instrument for its unique color. So does the ability to draw from many cultural sources bode well for the accordion's potential to attract more mainstream interest?

"Well, the first time I got a press question about the 'accordion renaissance' was in the late '80s," he says, listing the emergence 20 years ago of Paul Simon's "Graceland," Tom Waits, Astor Piazolla's tango music, and the growing ranks of Cajun and Tex-Mex stars. "And now, the big influence comes from Bulgarian and Roma [Gypsy] music, with movies like 'Gypsy Caravan' and 'Latcho Drom' and groups like Taraf De Haidouks having an impact on popular culture."

Not to forget the "Borat" and "Everything Is Illuminated" soundtracks. "So either it's the longest renaissance in history, or [the accordion] has become a permanent part of the landscape."

First Published: February 28, 2008, 10:00 a.m.