History of accordion building in Klingenthal

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The history of accordion building in Klingenthal , a small town in the music corner of the Saxon Vogtland district , builds on previous instrument building traditions. The tradition of making musical instruments in Klingenthal goes back to the middle of the 17th century, when Bohemian exiles who immigrated from the Habsburg territories in the course of the Counter-Reformation introduced violin making here . From the beginning of the 19th century, harmonica construction found its way into Klingenthal. This changed the economic structure of the city noticeably. Traditional orchestral instrument making was largely displaced as many craftsmen switched to making harmonica. Klingenthal quickly developed into the largest German harmonica center and shared the German export market with Trossingen . Harmonica making was dominant in Klingenthal until the 20th century. In 2004 the company Favoritlied Records produced with the company Kodex Media with the director George Lindt the film The Accordion - The History and Construction of the Accordion , which was also released on DVD. The film follows the worldwide history of the instrument and then shows the complete manual construction of an instrument.

Schwarzmeisel and Langhammer

As early as 1823, the Klingenthal master violin maker and music dealer Johann Georg Meisel , also known as Schwarzmeisel , received one of the first harmonica from the Braunschweiger Messe . At that time, violin making was still dominant in Klingenthal, but the making of wood and metal wind instruments had already found its way. Meisel had traveled all over the world as a trader and thus had an eye for innovations. He was one of the first to enable the Italian violin models to make their breakthrough in the Klingenthal area using the models built at the time after Stainer and Hopf.

Meisel was not a specialist in metal, but he needed it to make the reeds. Since he wanted to make sure that he was the only one who built the instrument, he did not turn to the local brass instrument maker, but to the brass caster Johann Langhammer , who lived in Graslitz in Bohemia and with whom he was friends. He asked him to make the reeds and records. As a violin maker, he wanted to make the wood for the pulpit himself. Langhammer dealt only sporadically with the harmonica, because it was a gimmick for him. So wood and plates remained lying around for years until the sixteen-year-old son of Langhammer finished the instruments. The work was successful, whereupon Meisel delivered woods in large quantities and ordered the corresponding harmonics . Meisel took over the sole distribution with his son Christian Wilhelm .

Langhammer has been producing harmonicas in large quantities since 1827. Due to the completeness of Meisel's books since 1789, the manufacture of the harmonica can be easily traced. The transport of the wood or the finished harmonica was always carried out in great secrecy. In 1834 Langhammer delivered 46 dozen instruments, including ten dozen 24-note instruments, over a period of five months. This corresponds to an annual production of around 100 dozen harmonicas.

The joint production of Meisel and Langhammer came to a standstill when Saxony was connected to the Prussian customs area in 1833. Langhammer now manufactures for himself and Meisel obtained harmonicas from a Klingenthal company. He did not start making harmonicas again until the middle of the 19th century.

The boom

Despite Meisel's secrecy, the harmonica found its way into Klingenthal in 1829. The woodwind instrument maker Johann Wilhelm Rudolph Glier (* 1793, † 1873) received a harmonica as a gift from the Physikalischer Verein in Frankfurt am Main that year and shortly thereafter built the instruments. This was the beginning of the harmonica construction in Klingenthal. Glier sold his instruments as far as Saint Petersburg , where he had previously owned a branch for woodwind instruments.

Shortly thereafter, other harmonica companies began to split off from Glier. His sons went into business for themselves, other traders hired Glier workers and began producing harmonicas. At that time there were already at least 50 companies in Klingenthal. After a short time the harmonica had become the main item in Klingenthal production and within 10 years the city had become the largest German harmonica center.

The manufacture of accordions

In 1852 the carpenter Adolph Herold brought instruments from the Magdeburg company Friedrich Geßner, which had been building accordions since 1845 , to Klingenthal and built them in his father's workshop. In an article in the Vogtland Gazette from July 19, 1860, it says about Klingenthal: “... that 250,000 dozen harmonica are made here and in the surrounding area each year and the average price for the dozen is 1 thalers. be respected. "

Many local harmonica makers were encouraged to also build accordions. As early as 1862 there were 20 factories with 334 workers in Klingenthal and the surrounding area. The annual production at that time amounted to 214,500 pieces (see "Vogtländischer Anzeiger" from July 19, 1860). Such numbers were not even achieved later by the Hohner company.

The locksmith Julius Berthold made a significant contribution to mechanical production from 1870 onwards. He invented and built machines that simplified the production of reed plates and accordions. These included punching and milling for reeds, presses for bellows production , woodworking machines, cutting machines and many more. 120 reed plate milling machines were sold throughout Europe.

Klingenthal became a world center of harmonica production in the second half of the 19th century. The older branches of the musical instrument trade were largely displaced.

Well-known companies

Well-known accordion manufacturers at that time were: CA Seydel , JC Herold, GA Dörfel, Dörfel-Steinfelser & Co., FA Böhm , Otto Weidrich, Karl Eschbach, Ernst Leiterd, FA Rauner AG, Robert Mühlmann, Gebrüder Gündel, Gebrüder Ludwig since 1844, CW Meisel senior (Schwarzmeisel) until the 1950s.

After the First World War, some companies formed joint stock companies with the aim of rationalizing production, generating higher profits and being able to withstand the pressure of competition better.

Some of the companies were after the Second World War to Klingenthaler VEB Harmonikawerke , brand name World Champion , joined forces. However, according to its own statement, the company should leave Klingenthal in autumn 2014 and move to Markneukirchen. For Klingenthal, this would have ended the history of accordion building in an industrial style. But production still takes place on site in Markneukirchner Straße in Klingenthal. Today's manufacturers:

  • Weltmeister Akkordeon Manufaktur GmbH, approx. 60 employees, manufacture of piano and button accordions, children's accordions, orchestral accordions, accordions and solo instruments as well as folklore instruments.
  • Harmonikabau Udo Schneeberg, Zwota, family business, production of all kinds of harmonica and children's accordions, repair of all hand-drawn instruments
  • Bandoneon construction Uwe Hartenhauer Klingenthal, new construction of bandoneons, repair of all hand-drawn instruments.
  • Bandonion & Conzertinafabrik Klingenthal GmbH, new building for Bandonions

See also

literature

  • Wir-Verlag Walter Weller (ed.): Klingenthal . Wir-Verlag Walter Weller, Aalen 1991, ISBN 3-924492-59-X .
  • Kurt Erich Dörfel: History of the places of the district of Klingenthal . Publishing house Gustav Bergmann, Klingenthal 1930.
  • Arthur Müller: Look into Klingenthal's past . In the commission publishing house of Brückner & Niemann, Leipzig 1897.
  • Martin Häffner (MH): Hohner, Seydel, Köstler, Koch and the many others. German Harmonica Museum, Trossingen.
  • Christian Friedrich Buschmann , Matth. Hohner Verlag 1938.
  • 100 years of the Saxon harmonica industry - special edition of the Klingenthaler Zeitung and Tageblatt - 3rd to 11th August 1929.
  • Louis Bein: The industry of the Saxon Vogtland . Duncker & Humblot Publishing House, Leipzig 1884.
  • August Roth: History of the harmonica folk instruments . Eat.
  • 200 years of CW Meisel senior (Schwarzmeisel). Klingenthaler Zeitung, October 1935.
  • Karlfritz Will: The Klingenthaler Harmonica Industry (from Mei Klengetholer Hamit ). 1927.
  • Adolf Fuchs: What has actually survived from the Sudeten German music industry (published in the Graslitzer Heimatbrief). Waiblingen 1952.
  • Kurt Kauert: The music corner and the harmonica. ISBN 3-931770-28-1 .

Web links