Accordion for klezmer

[Dove]

Hi there!
I want to play mostly klezmer and musette (I have recently began with the accordion).They are offering me a Damiani with a classical tuning and 2 middle voices+ 1 high for a good prize. Do you think it would be suitable to play that kind of music? Thank you in advance!

 

[Dingo40]

They are offering me a Damiani with a classical tuning and 2 middle voices+ 1 high for a good prize. Do you think it would be suitable to play that kind of music?

Hi Dove, and welcome !
I've never heard of the Damiani make of accordion. Perhaps you could post a picture of it?
There are several forum members who are very knowledgeable about klezmer music, I'm sure they will be happy to offer some advice about suitable instruments.

 

[OuijaBoard]

YMMV, but I don't care for a classical-sounding instruments with cassotto and/or freebass or converter for Klezmer. My favorite Klezmer accordionists play it on robust-sounding Stradella boxes---Italian, the no-longer-made West German Hohners, current Weltmeisters, even Asian-made Hohner Bravos.


Here is a gent demonstrating a klezmer scale on a fabulous 96-bass Beltuna, at Liberty:



Here is our favorite connoisseur of headwear at Accordions South West on a couple of the vintage instruments he restores and releases into the atmosphere:








I saw klezmer accordionists Alexis Kune in a little neighborhood community center in Paris a couple of years before the pandemic and became an instant fan. He appears to play 34/72 and 37/96 ish sizes--the first clip is klezmer, the second he's doing Rumanian.

 

[Zevy]

Thread 'Two Klezmer Tunes on Accordion'
https://www.accordionists.info/threads/two-klezmer-tunes-on-accordion.9485/
Here you have Klezmer music on a full size accordion with tone chamber (Cassotto for my Italian speaking friends ).

 

[Dove]

Hi Dove, and welcome !
I've never heard of the Damiani make of accordion. Perhaps you could post a picture of it?
There are several forum members who are very knowledgeable about klezmer music, I'm sure they will be happy to offer some advice about suitable instruments.

 

[Dove]

Hi again!
Thanks for your kind snd quick answer. This is the Damiani. As far as I know, they are made in Italy and distributed in Madrid (Spain).

 

[Dingo40]

This is the Damiani. As far as I know, they are made in Italy and distributed in Madrid (Spain).

Thanks for the pictures!
It's a 37/96, 3 voice PA.
AFAIK, there should be no reason why you couldn't play klezmer (or anything else, other than serious classical music) with this instrument, but others here may point out any limitations.
You seem to suggest the voices are MMH. I wonder if they may actually be LMM, a much more common combination?
Anyway, the best of luck with your new interest !

 

[Scuromondo]

The grillwork on the accordion looks vaguely familiar but I cannot place where I might have seen it before. Looking at the accordion photos only, I would have guessed that “Damiani” was not the brand of the accordion, but rather a label applied to the body of the accordion by a previous owner.

 

[Dingo40]

, I would have guessed that “Damiani” was not the brand of the accordion, but rather a label applied to the body of the accordion by a previous owner.

Apparently, not so, as the Madrid website
(Acordeones en Madrid) offers a number of different accordions of seemingly different editions, prices and specifications, all bearing the Damiani name, in various fonts!
See here :

Google Image Result for https://images.milanuncios.com/api/v1/ma-ad-media-pro/images/64c738d8-7528-40c4-96c4-0a86ec796b35?rule=hw396

 

[Ventura]

by "good price" do you mean 1000 euro's or so ?

anyhow, the big Damiani with 13 shifts credits Ottavianelli as the source,
whom we have good reports on at reasonable prices, and the euro price
on the page reflects a modest markup

it is interesting that an LMM accordion has 7 shifts, and each M has a solo tab,
and one would think in this day and age there is an actual reason for this,..
so i am curious if the Spanish preference in tuning and layout has some
bearing on this, or if it is one M in chamber and one out, with both tuned
near unison, so that there would be a flavor difference from each in solo

and as i think on it, other Euro shoppers might do well to include this
retailer in their future research for decent accordions at reasonable prices
since it has seemed the Thomann Asian stuff available in a modest price range
is what we hear about most often

 

[Ventura]

(Acordeones en Madrid

no wonder you find everything ! Australia has Super Search ai chops apparently the USA does not

none of my searching turned up anything retail in madrid or Spain

you have the skillz Dingo !

 

[Scuromondo]

I learned something! Thank you, Dingo.

 

[murathan]

Klezmer can be played on almost every accordion.

 

[Dove]

So, ¿do you actually think that the registers in the left hand (see photo attached) show LMM and not MMH? This would be good news for me.
Yes, Damiani seems to be a brand which makes the accordions in Italy and has an only distributor in Spain.

 

[Alan Sharkis]

I agree with Murathan. Almost any accordion will do for Klezmer. Here are a couple of more videos:

The first is a rather long video, but worth watching, that highlights Ismail Butera in the group called Metropolitan Klezmer. He plays an Excelsior.



In the second video,Sy Kushner is the accordionist and composer. Kushner plays a Bell.

 

[murathan]

So, ¿do you actually think that the registers in the left hand (see photo attached) show LMM and not MMH? This would be good news for me.
Yes, Damiani seems to be a brand which makes the accordions in Italy and has an only distributor in Spain.

Photo shows LMM which is the same with Hohner Bravo III models. I generally use LM switch for Klezmer music.

 

[OuijaBoard]

I also like LM for klez---12 years ago for something like $350 I lucked into one of those Titano Titan LMs in the 30/50 size. A wonderful accordion for klez, Balkan/gypsy as well as tango.

 

[OuijaBoard]

The Italian Piatansei concern distributes a lot of accordions sold in Spain as well as South America. Some of their grill patterns look a lot like the "Damiano" here. I've seen the company noted as Piatanesi-Ottavianelli or vice versa, and suspect a common group. Nice smaller-label folks. LB in Philadelphia gets batches of Ottavianellis from time to time.

 

[Tom]

The Italian Piatansei concern distributes a lot of accordions sold in Spain as well as South America. Some of their grill patterns look a lot like the "Damiano" here. I've seen the company noted as Piatanesi-Ottavianelli or vice versa, and suspect a common group. Nice smaller-label folks. LB in Philadelphia gets batches of Ottavianellis from time to time.

Yes, these two brands share a building and look remarkably similar. I suspect they also share suppliers and expertise. I think they are so popular because of price/quality ratio compared to other Italian brands. I have 2 and always get a good response, but am not affiliated in any way, but if they feel like sending me another I wouldn’t complain!

 

[Alan Sharkis]

Cooperfisa also produces accordions with diamond-shaped cutouts in the grill. My Armoniosa, made by Cooperfisa is one of them.