We hope that you noticed several new updates to the web site, most notably the addition of 75 new songs to the sheet music library. Visit Recent Additions to see the list of new tunes.

Several song titles in the library have been arranged by our visitors using the special ABC music notation. If you have an ABC player for your computer, you can play these songs for your enjoyment or accompaniment.

Be certain to look at the list of current Music Requests to see if you have any songs that our other visitors are looking for.

01/2009 - Back to Top

One of the very best winter-time concertina events is Art Ohotto's Concertina Bowl. If you are getting cabin fever or need to warm-up the old squeezebox, be certain to find your way to Blainebrook Hall on January 31.

A Wonderful Reunion of Music Lovers; Guaranteed to Warm Your Winter!

Located at Blainebrook Hall at 12000 Highway 65 (Central Av) in Blaine, Minnesota, January 31, 2009.

Event coordinator, Art Ohotto, invites you to join the crowd for this annual Knight's of Columbus fundraiser.

Everyone is welcome. Come enjoy the music and fun. Door prizes all day, food and snacks, cash bar with beer and mixed drinks. Doors open at noon (12:00 p.m.) and the music lasts until midnight (12:00 a.m.).

Adults: $9.50, Students 18 and Under: $5.00, Kids under 12: Free!

This year's featured band is Gilly Maus and the Country Polkateers, the Minnesota Ballroom Operators Association Band of the Year! They will be featured in 'the back room' at 6:00 p.m. Of course the day will also include dozens of chemnitzer concertina musicians from near and far, all gathered to make some music for this mid-winter concertina festival.

For more information, please contact Art at 763.742.4578.

01/2009 - Back to Top

Question

While helping clean my 96-year-old great grandpa's house, I came across this Queen Pearl accordion. I know nothing about accordions, concertinas, or anything of that sort, so I was really hoping you guys could give me little rundown on this particular instrument.

Answer

[Editor's note: This question was received with a photo of a vintage Pearl Queen attached.] What you have found is your Great-Grandfather's 76-key (38 button) chemnitzer-type concertina, probably tuned to the key of C (when you press the button labeled with a '5' on the right-hand side and push the bellows it will produce an 'A' note). Being 76-key would also likely make it a double reed model, meaning that two reeds 'sound' for every button pressed. If the outside dimensions of the end are about 8 inches by 8 inches, that confirms it is probably a double reed model. Concertinas with three or four reeds for each button obviously require more room and would have larger dimensions.

The exterior finish is wood; typical for the entry-level Pearl Queen instruments made during this period. Finish options started with plain wood, then wood with a simple silver wire inlay making simple outline patterns in the wood. The next step up included small 'pearl' pieces inlaid with the silver wire (usually in delicate flower patterns). For the next best model, the wood finish would be covered in black lacquer (with the silver wire and pearl inlay). The high-end Pearl Queen concertinas had an all abalone shell finish, with only a very few having the abalone arranged in a type of very intricate diamond 'staircase' pattern.

The Patek and Pearl Queen chemnitzer concertinas (different brands, but identical instruments) were the mainstay of the Polish American music scene 50 to 75 years ago. Patek concertinas were manufactured for Rudy Patek and sold by him and various other retailers throughout the Midwest, mostly during the 1920s through the 1950s. The Pearl Queen brand was manufactured for retailers (Otto) Georgi & (Louis) Vitak and later, (Louis) Vitak & (Joseph) Elsnic. Often times you will find the names of these retailers somewhere on the instrument (or inside the instrument) or the carrying case. The Patek and Pearl Queen concertinas were actually made in Chicago under contract by Otto Schlicht and his associates. Schlicht was quite the concertina technician and innovator, being responsible for most of the features in modern chemnitzer concertinas. Yours being sold in Pittsburgh indicates that it was being resold either by a distributor under Georgi & Vitak or as a used instrument.

The size, type, and finish all help date this as a relatively early model Pearl Queen; likely from the 1920s or 1930s. If you look at the bottom of either wooden hand strap bracket, you should find a number stamped into the wood. You can cross-reference this number against the data base on our web site, or contact us with the number and we can help you determine a more accurate manufacture date.

As you may already know, these vintage instruments are cherished more for their nostalgic value rather than their musical quality. The early concertinas generally do not have the sound quality that make the instrument more desirable to today's professional musicians and serious hobbyists, although some specific early models are known to be exceptional performers.

Valuing these 'organic' instruments is always difficult. So many variables can affect their eventual sales price. If it is in good playing condition; all buttons operate, all reeds operate, no air leaks (you can suspend the 'box from one handle with little or no leaks), good finish (no chips or cracks), good bellows leather, no musty or mildew odor, all reeds in good tune, etc.; this particular model could be worth as much as $500. If it has any defects or problems, usually only detectable by an experienced chemnitzer musician or technician, it could be worthless.

01/2009 - Back to Top