Articles
Andrias Garborg – Norges Paolo Soprani:
Timebuen som bygde det første trekkspillet i landet
Den selvlærte Andrias Garborg (1847-1881) fra Time var sannsynligvis den første trekkspillmakeren i Norge. Allerede i 1870 fikk han pris for et instrument han hadde laget. Men han døde tidlig, og trekkspillproduksjonen ble ikke noe lokalt industrieventyr, slik som for hans samtidige, Paolo Soprani i Italia.
Av Olaf Gjerløw Aasland og Jon Faukstad
Publisert i Årbok for Time historielag for 2021.
Andrias Garborg – The Norwegian Paolo Soprani:
The man from Time who built the first accordion in the country
PDF available in Norwegian only.
The self-learned Andrias Garborg (1847-1881) from Time was probably the first accordion maker in Norway. Already in 1870, he won a prize for a self-made instrument. But he died young, and the local accordion production did not become an industrial adventure like for his contemporary Paolo Soprani in Italy.
Av Olaf Gjerløw Aasland and Jon Faukstad
Published in Yearbook for Time historielag 2021.
Two bandoneons in Norway
Article available in Norwegian only ( Trekkspillnytt #3, Sept 2026).
English summary
The article tells the story of two Alfred Arnold bandoneons from 1941 that recently met in the author’s workshop in Oslo: a black 142-tone tango bandoneon and a blue 144-tone Einheitsbandonion. Although nearly the same age and made by the same German manufacturer, they represent two very different musical traditions.
The text traces the origins of the concertina and bandoneon back to 19th-century Germany, beginning with Carl Friedrich Uhlig’s development of a new free-reed instrument in Chemnitz in the 1830s. Over time, related instruments were developed by makers such as Carl Friedrich Zimmermann and Heinrich Band, leading to the growth of concertina and bandoneon clubs, especially among German workers. By the early 20th century, these clubs formed a large grassroots movement, but it declined sharply under Nazi cultural control and was further devastated by World War II.
The article then contrasts this German tradition with the bandoneon’s later life in South America. German emigrants brought free-reed instruments to the Americas, and in the Río de la Plata region, especially Buenos Aires and Montevideo, the bandoneon became central to tango. The 142-tone tango bandoneon, with its melancholic octave tuning and distinctive playing style, became essential in tango orchestras. Unlike the mostly amateur German clubs, tango musicians were often professional performers using standard notation.
The author also describes the roles of makers, importers, and musicians, including Alfred Arnold, Walther Pörschmann, Luis Mariani, Domingo Santa Cruz, Vicente Greco, and Astor Piazzolla. UNESCO’s recognition of tango as intangible cultural heritage in 2009 is presented as evidence that the tango bandoneon tradition remains alive, supported by new makers in Argentina and Europe.
Finally, the article explains how the two instruments ended up in Norway. The tango bandoneon had likely been exported to South America before returning to Norway through a missionary connection, while the Einheitsbandonion’s earlier history is uncertain and may have come to Norway during the war. Together, the two instruments illustrate how one German bandoneon tradition largely disappeared, while another crossed the Atlantic and became an enduring symbol of tango.
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Interview with Jørgen Sagevik, b. 1938, on 28. February 2024. (Norwegian)
Jørgen Sagevik is a Norwegian accordionist, mouth harmonica player and teacher, who for many years ran musical instrument stores in combination with basic musical education and training in Stavanger and Sandnes. In 1957 he was, as a self-learned accordionist, accepted at the prestigious Hohner academy in Trossingen, West-Germany, where he graduated in 1960. He then had a long national and international career as an eminent accordionist and mouth harmonica player. His leading principle was always to promote these two instruments as natural members of the classical musical instrument family. He also founded and ran musical instrument stores combined with education and supervision of skilled performers.
As an active pensioner he has specialized in presenting the works of Jakob Sande (1906-1967), a Norwegian poet and author from the same village as Sagevik, in words and music.
In 2025 Sagevik received The Norwegian King’s Medal of Merit.
Professoren som uvitende startet fritungerevolusjonen (pdf)
Dette er en lett revidert artikkel som først ble publisert i The Galpin Society Journal, med norsk oversettelse. Fotnoter og bildetekster er ikke oversatt.
The professor who unknowingly started the free reed revolution (pdf)
This is a slightly revised article originally published in The Galpin Society Journal, with Norwegian translation (except footnotes and captions).
The Galpin Society Journal, Volume 78, March 2025, p. 56-71.