Despite its over century-old history, the Bandoneόn was able to establish itself only recently in the musical ‘cultivated’ world, ranking among the noble classical instruments. The increasing presence of the bandoneόn in theatres,  auditoriums and great concert halls has been contributing to broaden the interest of cultural organizations and of the audience towards this specific musical instrument.

 

"Historically, it developed in Germany in the mid-1800s, thanks to the far-sighted creator Heinrich Band and his "social" vision of music: belonging to a family of silk weavers in the city of Krefeld, cellist, owner of a musical instrument shop, music teacher, the basic objective was to expand participation in the musical (and therefore cultural) life of the city of Krefeld to all levels of society.
Within this great social project, the bandoneόn was therefore conceived and treated as a means of social emancipation: an economically accessible tool; easy to learn, thanks to a method designed by the Band itself and aimed at enthusiasts who did not know how to read music; aesthetically very valuable; practically almost without limits of extension for the possibilities of playing popular music and all those in vogue at the time.
The process of perfecting the instrument continued in parallel with the increasingly demanding demands of buyers who belonged, in greater numbers, to the middle class, an increasingly developing social group. Band was attentive and met these increasingly refined needs of the public aimed at technique and aesthetics.
We owe this valuable information to the ethnomusicologist Janine Krüger and her very rich and important essay "Heinrich Band. Bandoneόn. Origines y viajes del instrumento emblematico del tango" Contemporary. Tinta Roja Ediciones del Sur siglo XXI.
His research, moreover, definitively demolishes the false myth that told of the bandoneόn as an instrument created to replace the organ in churches where the latter was not present." ¹

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At the end of the nineteenth century, following the waves of migration from Europe to South America, the bandoneόn arrived in Argentina: there is still no detailed information on its arrival in the ports of Buenos Aires, the subject is still being studied through the analysis of official documents (sales agreements) and not (private letters between travelers and migrants). Thanks to its small size and ease of transport, the bandoneόn was soon adopted in the performance of local folk music. In a short time it became the fundamental instrument of the Argentine Tango orchestras and thus began its greatest development which, even today, strongly links it to the Argentine tradition.

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The roots of this spread are certainly to be found in French territory. Since the 20s of the 900s, in fact, in the city of Paris, called the "European Buenos Aires", the tango had reached such a diffusion that it became almost more popular than in Argentina. Thanks to the French milonguero wind, it became necessary to find an increasing number of musicians able to play the music that accompanied the dance. On the one hand, this gave impetus to French musicians to undertake the study of the bandoneόn, on the wave of fashion that was taking hold; on the other hand, it has caused many Argentine bandoneonists to leave South America for Paris, the new promised land of tango.

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The World War II decisively marked the fate of the bandoneόn: the factories, all located in Hitler's Germany, were severely affected by the conflict, until they reached the gradual decline that led to the complete cessation of mass production of the instrument. In the immediate post-war period, thanks to the changed musical tastes, oriented towards new genres and North American music, Tango disappeared and the bandoneόn thus fell into the deepest oblivion.

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Thanks to the figure of Astor Piazzolla, the reformer of Tango, it was possible to trace the chronology of a revolution that, between the 70s and 80s of the last century, prepared the ground for the rebirth of Tango in Europe, and the premises for a new apogee. Piazzolla is credited with having given new dignity to tango, transforming it from simple "dance" music (this was the vision of tango on the European continent) to real "concert" music.

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Piazzolla's Tango Nuevo represents, in fact, the perfect combination of past, present and future. If on the one hand it retains its innate popular matrix, capable of making this musical genre accessible to the widest audience, both cultured and profane, on the other hand, it detaches itself from traditional tango, to the point of incorporating innovative elements typical of jazz and avant-garde music, such as to determine an overall "ennoblement" of the genre, gradually introducing it to the world of chamber music.

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Since its rebirth, the bandoneόn has progressively attracted the attention of numerous contemporary composers who have decided to devote and still dedicate part of their compositional activity to this instrument. Among the most important are: Martin Matalón, One Van de Gaal, Gustavo Beytelmann Per Arne Glorvigen, Marcelo Nisinman, Pedro Palacio, Claudio Constantini, Carlos Roque Alsina, Fernando Fiszbein, Bernard Cavanna, Luis Bacalov, Tomàs Gubitsch, Daniel Binelli, Rodolfo Daluisio, René Marino Rivero, etc.
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In this vein is also the famous contemporary bandoneonist, Maestro Juan José Mosalini, who in 1988 founded the first bandoneon course in Europe, at the Conservatory of Music in Gennevilliers (France).
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The rediscovery of the bandoneόn has sanctioned its decisive evolution, which has led to the exploration of the vast range of expressive and sound possibilities that this instrument is able to offer. Thanks to an articulated path of experimentation, he has now become part of the most varied ensembles, alongside the most diverse musical genres.

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Today the tango genre represents only a cultural background on which the new avant-garde (and not) languages offered by the vast current musical panorama are grafted. The bandoneόn has, therefore, definitively cut that umbilical cord that has kept it linked for so long only to the Argentine tradition. No longer just tango, therefore, but also classical, jazz and contemporary music.
 
In addition, the bandoneonists themselves today also dedicate themselves to the composition of their own original pieces to be performed with their own ensembles, based on classical compositional forms, but projected towards the future, thanks to experimentation and thanks to the development of innovative musical ideas. This is how today this instrument, versatile and eclectic, has become a full part of the contemporary musical world, opening up new sound scenarios in which tango, at times, only the flavor remains.
 
Finally, the bandoneόn, now re-evaluated as a portable organ, thanks to its unexpected polyphonic potential, is also used in the performance of Baroque music and more properly harpsichord repertoires that lend themselves to transposition on the buttonholes of the instrument.
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Italy boasts a large number of musicians, including classical musicians, who have undertaken the study of the bandoneόn, and who today devote themselves permanently to concert activity, even abroad.
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Since A.Y. 2019/20, the first chair in Italy of Bandonéon – first and second level degrees – has been established at the Conservatory of Music of Cagliari "Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina", whose teacher is Fabio Furia, an internationally renowned bandoneonist. Within the same Institute, the Typical Tango Orchestra of the conservatory was born, on the project and direction of the bandoneόn teacher.

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 ¹ Excerpt by “Il Bandoneon-Geografie di uno strumento” by Veronica Maccioni, First Level Academic degree thesis in Bandoneόn, “G.P. Da Palestrina” Statal Conservatory – Cagliari, A.A. 2023 2024

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