INTERMUSIK’s editorial team completed on July 1, 2010, its 18th year of existence. For the INTERMUSIK newspaper it is the 19th volume. First edition picture:  On July 1, 1992, the editorial staff was officially brought into being and the first editor-in-chief, Udo Kuhlmann, began his work. A few months before, the newspaper’s founder and music publisher, Ulrich Schmülling, had already started preparing for this project, among other things by wooing the targeted editor Kuhlmann away from his previous employer, WAZ Newspaper Group. Instead of an accordionist, a professional journalist was to head the newspaper. He would accumulate the music and accordion-specific technical knowledge with time, especially since Schmülling himself and his hand-picked team of voluntary co-workers, part of whom came from the accordion scene, were on hand with their expert awareness. From the official start on July 1, 1992, there remained for editor Kuhlmann, the editorial team, and publisher Schmülling only three months to implement a singular worldwide project most people would consider impossible: a free and independent print medium appearing regularly in short intervals — meaning a trade paper that is professionally produced, accessible to everyone, comprises all areas of the national and international music scene with a focus on harmonica instruments, and indeed on all of them — not only accordions, but also diatonic hand harmonicas, bandoneons, concertinas, and mouth harmonicas. In short, a communication means that is limitless in every aspect. Name, format, distribution, and many other fundamental decisions had to be made. The new specialist journal was to be independent not only concerning the contents but also concerning external affairs, that means vis-à-vis advertisers on the one hand and subscribers on the other hand: In certain situations the editors should not be influenced by any group. Thus, something was attempted that for all practical purposes did not exist internationally in the entire media world until that time — even outside the music scene. On October 1, 1992, 50,000 copies of the first edition of INTERMUSIK were printed on rotary printers at the State newspaper company in Vilnius, Lithuania, which was chosen for this project. Distribution to the whole world occurred from the still youthful country of Lithuania, to which INTERMUSIK publisher Ulrich Schmülling already had cultivated business relations many years before. For three months the newspaper was sent free of charge. As of January 1, 1993, it could only be received in exchange for payment, preferably in the form of a subscription. Up to that time in Germany there was only the periodical of the German Harmonica Association (Deutsche Harmonika Verband, DHV), Harmonika Revue, a magazine appearing quarterly or semi-annually, solely representing the interests of the association or its exclusive sponsor, the company Matth. Hohner AG, and was practically inaccessible to any other, outside or unsuitable advertisement or article. Abroad there was not much else, as far as the Hohner’s and DHV’s area of influence was concerned. Beyond this (for example, in England, Finland, France, Italy, Poland, Russia, and USA) there were either small publications, which could be ascribed to the initiative of individual entrepreneurs (like Malcolm Gee from England with his Accordion Monthly News) and more or less single-fold newsletters of national accordion associations and groups of interested people (such as DALV in Germany, Strumenti e Musica in Italy), which primarily had the purpose of presenting their own issues to the public of which the number of readers was rather limited. By contrast, INTERMUSIK’s goal was not to reach small, elite circles of experts or associations only, but masses, or more elegantly expressed, droves of readers. Music enthusiasts, amateur musicians, professional artists, students and pupils, teachers and professors, composers, conductors, culture managers, and music business people should find something interesting to read, and that was by no means limited only to one area of music: reporting coverage should span the scope from entertainment to classical music, from folklore to avant-garde. “We always considered as potential readers those who more or less already belonged to the scene, thus who were already devoted to the accordion or harmonica, as well as especially those who did not know harmonica instruments really or at all. Acquiring new reader circles was for us along with researching for reporting coverage of considerable importance.”
Against this background the publisher charged the same for mailing to addresses to any country of the world, which is still unique worldwide: INTERMUSIK was sent to Germany as well as to Brazil, Fiji, France, Madagascar, Mongolia, or Russia, for the same price. By this INTERMUSIK’s maximum distribution area finally grew to around 190 countries. Despite the requirements of large quantities and extensive distribution, it never was INTERMUSIK’s goal with regard to its overall focus on content only to entertain readers or simply amuse consumers and therefore to offer shallow, superficial, and only diverting reporting. Above all the newspaper should inform and that in understandable language, critically, professionally, openly, competently, when necessary with verbal acuity — and that it did until the end. Based on this, INTERMUSIK’s appearance was associated with a real revolution on all levels, which was by no means experienced or met with delight by every part or everybody of the harmonica scene. Right after the first printed issues of the newspaper, INTERMUSIK became a criterion, a model for many already existing media and for others that appeared later in the whole world. INTERMUSIK, with its information horizon, existing technical knowledge, and its often extensive primary-source research, became a valuable news service for other media as well as for trade associations, institutes, and business. Many times texts and reports were assumed from INTERMUSIK, some translated and reprinted in other newspapers and magazines. No medium reflected the actual events in the accordion and harmonica world in a more concentrated manner, no medium distributed them wider than INTERMUSIK, although the newspaper, with the exception of a few special issues, only appeared in German. The unrivaled informational content bestowed on the newspaper a respectable number of readers abroad, among which there were many who had little or no knowledge of the German language and thus required the help of others for translation. In the last 18 years, a great deal has changed in society, business, and technology, much advantageous and much disadvantageous. When you look at past INTERMUSIK newspaper editions, you will remember many of these developments. In the beginning, issues were printed only in black and white. At that time the computer had only marginal significance. Then came four-color printing, and many other changes in printing and production technology followed. Typeface, layout, and format altered, INTERMUSIK became “fuller.” Ever more information had to be squeezed into the 16 newspaper pages that were set as the length. The editorial team changed repeatedly. Despite everything, INTERMUSIK remained unchanged in its conceived disposition, its strategic composition. 16 pages newly filled every month for around 18 years were presented to readers. If a person were to bring the 16 pages of the newspaper into a general magazine or book format and change occasional small printed text into normal reading format, then a handsome, large-sized book containing 64 pages would result. Over the years, the editorial team produced a total of 214 issues. These reflect an expanded picture of the history occurring in the harmonica scene worldwide as no other medium has done. A total of 3,424 newspaper pages were produced; once again converted into book format there would have been around 13,700 pages and therefore a comprehensive, voluminous encyclopedia. Many libraries in the world have been regular subscribers to INTERMUSIK, so that the knowledge collected during 18 years in the newspaper is available to posterity. With this as background of the past highly successful newspaper work, INTERMUSIK’s founder and publisher, Professor Ulrich Schmülling, is taking a decisive step: ceasing INTERMUSIK as newspaper publication with the July 2010 issue. This was a great surprise for the entire professional world, as well as for subscribers and advertisers. “Nevertheless, in my opinion the time had come for INTERMUSIK to take its leave from this form of publication. As is well known, a person should stop when everything is going well and not when it is necessary. This is just the case here. I have not made the decision due to an emergency or any other necessity, but simply following my free conviction and inner feelings, just as I once founded the publication,” Schmülling declared. The entire INTERMUSIK project achieved a unique and outstanding position. The newspaper was internationally completely unrivalled in the media world, was self-sufficient and sovereign, and therefore it fits into no existing category in world journalism. “Goals set at the beginning have all been achieved and thoroughly maintained until the last edition”, explained the editorial staff. “We actually do not think that other media, be it magazines or newspapers in Germany as well as abroad, Internet or other communication platforms could or want to take over our part in information and media work in the future. Certainly, we are similarly convinced that the world — as well as the accordion and harmonica world—will keep on revolving even without the INTERMUSIK newspaper.” In the final analysis, INTERMUSIK went far beyond what generally is connected with a newspaper. Behind the scenes, that is to say behind the monthly printed edition, INTERMUSIK developed to a worldwide distributed and highly differentiated network, which comprises a multitude of people, institutions, associations, institutes, companies, and contacts in the area of music and harmonica scene in over 100 countries. The contacts which have been made by INTERMUSIK and the transfer of know-how on artistic, business, pedagogical, and other levels, which have been benefitted by INTERMUSIK, can hardly be estimated in their scope and penetration. For 18 years INTERMUSIK was the “reflector” of the international music scene of the harmonica instruments. And now, with the last edition of July 2010, it has become history itself.
Often a person doesn’t know where a path, decided upon purely out of a simple feeling, will lead. Especially not when the person is young. Around 33 years ago a spark ignited in a 16-year-old German accordionist, who at that time was already successful as musician on the stage and in regional, national, and international competitions. He had learned by chance that in summer 1978 the city of Lodz (Łódź), Poland, would host the “Coupe Mondiale,” the soloist competition of the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes (CIA), which is commonly characterized as the world championship. Even though the young musician didn’t plan to take part in the competition himself yet, he wanted to have experienced it once. At that time, countries of the East and West were systems closed to each other. The Cold War belonged to the order of the day. Exchange of communications between people, institutions, and such from one system to the other was extremely difficult, if not practically impossible. Telephoning functioned only via complicated international phone operators. Written contact occurred only by means of telex, telegram, or the interminable postal routes. Mobile telephone, telefax, and Internet were not even known as words. Travel possibilities were extremely limited and visas were required practically everywhere. Train was the only means of transit travel recommended. Despite all these circumstances, the ambitious accordionist didn’t let anything dissuade him from his plans and he travelled in 1978 all alone, scarcely 17 years old, through the Iron Curtain to Lodz (Łódź), and the “Coupe Mondiale.” This would open new worlds to him in many respects. Here he became acquainted with Werner Glutsch, who participated in the competition as German candidate, and his teacher Wolfgang Eschenbacher as well as the German C.I.A. delegates Emil Böttcher and his wife; then, too, Maddalena Belfiore, Faithe Deffner, and Prof. Joan Cochran Sommers (from the USA) along with many other great and prominent people from the international accordion world. In Lodz (Łódź), the young man, who had been registered as junior student at Dortmund Music College, came across the so-called serious music for accordion — especially pieces by Soviet composers — that excited him. As he learned, it was practically impossible for “Western citizens”, and also for people in Eastern countries outside the USSR, to obtain sheet music published from these works. The budding concert accordionist had found “his music” here and wasn’t satisfied he couldn’t get it. He began to make contacts … and around one and a half years later, having just become of age and still a high school pupil, founded his own music publishing company. The publishing house developed into a inimitable professional medium for accordion pieces by Soviet composers. Later, numerous other authors from other countries with important works for accordion were included. In this way, the young publisher opened to the entire accordion world the music which is still today the most demanding, enjoyable, and widely distributed internationally among concert accordionists. In the course of his contacts to the music scene of the Eastern Bloc on the one hand and to the company Matth. Hohner AG in Trossingen, Germany, on the other hand—he was at this time among other things acting for the company as “endorser,” as one would say today—he reported to the incumbent Hohner director Michael Alder, to whom he had a direct and friendly connection, about the unusual USSR instruments having not only treble registers that could be switched by the chin, but also a free bass manual that was integrated in the standard bass manual and could be accessed by one switch, a so called bass converter, instead of being inconveniently located additionally in front of the standard basses. Hohner’s then manager of the special instruments department, Franz Lindermaier, to whom the Hohner director referred him, couldn’t imagine this type of instrument construction, thought it technically impossible, and seriously doubted such accordions existed at all. The young musician didn’t want to take that and offered to procure such an instrument. About one year later — in summer 1979 at the Coupe Mondiale in Cannes (France) — the 18-year-old lad announced to the Hohner director that he would soon obtain such an instrument.
Thereby a new era in instrument manufacturing could have begun at Matth. Hohner AG. Unfortunately, when director Alder died in a tragic manner a short time later, the close connection between the accordion manufacturing world market leader at that time and the young accordionist came to an end for the time being. Once again, the musician and ambitious “young manager” persisted was keeping at it and turned to the aspiring Italian accordion manufacturers. Pigini and Bugari proved to be the most interested and were the first to produce a couple of years later instruments for concert accordionists with chin registers at the right hand keyboard and a free bass manual with a converter switch, which has become the international standard today. Along with impressive technical innovations in the accordion realm from the “New World” (here meaning the Soviet Union), the freshly installed music publisher further introduced to accordion manufacturers a word totally unfamiliar until then: bayan. He strongly recommended using this previously unknown and above all disencumbered concept to designate high-quality artist instruments. Several years of development and knowledge were following … — and now for a long time all manufacturers have been calling instruments belonging to the highest quality level, even most demanding soloist instruments, bayans or bayan accordions. Likewise, among corresponding musicians it has become customary at a certain level to call oneself no longer an accordionist but a bayanist, in the area of entertainment and concert music. Many years later this young accordionist, named Ulrich Schmülling, founded the INTERMUSIK newspaper. |
