The History of Accordions   Todeschini relates to the story of the Italian immigrant couple, Cesare Appiani and Maria Savoia, who came at the beginning of colonization and settled in Santa Tereza (at the time in the district of Bento Gonçalves). Maria was the daughter of a manufacturer of accordions * popular in Europe, so, together with her husband, she began to produce the instrument by hand.

Meanwhile, in the interior of Bento Gonçalves, there was a workshop for maintenance of watches, engines and harmonica, where the owner of the establishment Luigi Somenzi, his nephew Arcibaldo Somenzi and his neighbor Luiz Matheus Todeschini worked.

There are indications that, at a certain point, Luiz Matheus Todeschini came into contact with the Appiani and Savoia couple, with whom he better understood the craft of artisanal harmonica assembly.

In 1930, Luigi passed away and Luiz Matheus bought his company, calling it “Large Bellows Musical Instrument Factory by Luiz M. Todeschini.” The factory grew considerably in the following years, so the building of an old canteen on Rua 10 was acquired. from November.

In the 1950s, the company had European machinery and produced 1,500 instruments a month, including harmonica and harmoniums (instruments similar to the organ). In the 1960s, exports to Chile, Argentina, the United States and Mexico began to take place. Due to its consolidation, the American brand Hohner started to order Todeschini harmonicas to be sold as “Hohner” in the United States, like the Carmen IV model.

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Between 1967 and 1968, sales decreased due to the arrival of electric instruments in the national market, such as the guitar and the double bass. In an attempt to stay active, they also started to produce kitchens, lamps, camping boxes, among other items.

In 1971, the company went through a fire that consumed a large part of the raw material and later resulted in the interruption of the production of harmonica, focusing only on the furniture sector until today. The front of the building was demolished and now houses a market.

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Accordeões Todeschini became the largest producer of harmonica in Latin America and renowned national artists such as Luiz Gonzaga preferred the brand. The artist even composed the song "Garota Todeschini", from the album "Oia eu aqui de novo", in homage to his instrument .

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* The terminology in Portuguese is “accordion” or “acordeon”, but due to regionalism the instrument is recognized in the south as harmonica, and in the midwest and northeast as accordion.

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Sources:

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CÂMARA MUNICIPAL DE BENTO GONÇALVES, 2014. Available at <http://sapl.camarabento.rs.gov.br/media/sapl/public/materialegislativa/2014/6510/6510_texto_integral.pdf>.

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FROM PARIS, Assunta. Memories: Bento Gonçalves - RS - Historical Foundation - Bento Gonçalves: City Hall of Bento Gonçalves: Municipal Historical Archive. 2nd ed. 2006.

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THIESEN, Roberto. SYMBOLIC ASPECTS OF THE USE OF THE ACCORDION IN FANDANGUEIRA MUSIC IN RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 2009. 255 f. Thesis (Doctorate) - Music Course, Federal University of Bahia School of Music, Salvador, 2009. Available at: http://repositorio.ufba.br/ri/handle/ri/12681.

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