Pietro Frosini got his new Excelsior brand accordion From the factory In New York On January 17, 1927 And he used this instrument Until 1932. It was built With the Norwegian system And five-line melody base (As shown In the picture). With this accordion, Frosini has recorded 30 compositions On gramophone, For example: Silver Moon Waltz, Dizzy Accordion, Floretta Waltz Love Smiles And Symphonic March. The accordion has the characteristic tone (tremolo) 440-442Hz tuning system that Frosini used.
Swedish American Eric Berg was a good friend of Frosini, and they lived close to each other in New York. In 1932, Frosini got a New accordion And Erik Berg Then got the opportunity To own Frosini's accordion that was built in 1927. The factory Then rebuilt the accordion From Norwegian To Swedish system. When there are only three rows In the treble, it Is enough To change place By waxing the reeds In the tuning blocks (pictured). On the bass side, however, it became more extensive work. From five-row melody bass To six-row Stradella bass. When Erik Berg obtained the accordion after the rebuild, he had the opportunity To play On his system With Frosini's old accordion. Erik returned to Sweden in 1939. He became a soot master And settled In Grängesberg. No one knew that this accordion existed In Sweden.
Sven Hylén has told me that together with Ragnar Sundqvist they visited Erik Berg several times without seeing or hearing about this unique accordion that Erik hid In the closet. When Erik Berg passed away, the accordion was sold at auction And bought By Arne Hillberg In Gävle. This accordion enthusiast contacted Me And now I had the opportunity To acquire the unique accordion. Thanks To a Long chain Of coincidences, In the early 1980's I was able to play Frosini's music on Frosini's own accordion. This Is the accordion which I have used In radio And television As well As On gramophone recordings. As I sometimes include this accordion On my tours, today thousands Of accordionists In And outside Sweden have been given the opportunity To see And listen To Pietro Frosini's own accordion.
As can be seen, the work on this accordion was incredible, and no detail was forgotten. The accordion featured a back padding, To add comfort To the player (pictured). There Is also a register quick change switch, To allow For easier use Of the registers. Also visible In the picture, Is the quality And condition Of the instrument. It Is As New, With no signs Of damage Or wear. It was very clear To Frosini And the people who owned the instrument, that it was a very unique instrument that required incredible care And attention.
