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In 1833
C.W. Meisel brought an accordion to Klingenthal, made by W.
Thie of Vienna, which he found at the Brunnswick Fair. A few
years after that in Trossingen, Charles Messner started making
'mundoalines', a type of harmonica. Thirty years later, Mathias
Hohner (a watchmaker) developed an International Manufacturing
industry. By 1862 Klingenthal had over 20 accordion manufacturers
and in 1903 the Hohner accordion workshop opened. By 1905
Germany exported 35,220 accordions to France, and had 35 manufacturers.
In the1930's,
a style similar to that of the popular English 'dance bands'
developed. It was light, syncopated music which borrowed from
American jazz, but also included Waltzs, Tangos, Polkas, Two-steps
and Bostons.
Trossingen
is a small village in Fôret Noire. It was one of the
first places to make accordions with free reeds, in the first
part of the 19th century. In 1903 they began manufacturing
accordions, and by 1910 Hohner was the largest manufacturer
in the world. Even today, the town is organised around the
accordion manufacturers.
The
Hohner Symphony Orchestra was started by Hermann Schittenhelm
(b 1893), who became the teacher for 22 years. One of his
students, Rudolf Wurthner (b 1920) succeeded him as the firm's
teacher and as orchestra leader. Both wrote educational and
concert pieces for the accordion.
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