- Pietro Deiro
Pietro Deiro (1888 – 1954) was one of the most influential
accordion ists of the first half of the 20th century. [Ronald Flynn, Edwin Davison, Edward Chavez, "The Golden Age of the Accordion," 3rd edition (Flynn Publications, Schertz, Texas: 1992)]Born in Salto Canavese, Italy, the younger brother of
Guido Deiro , he immigrated to the United States in 1907 to live with his Uncle Frederico and work in the coal mines of Cle Elum, Washington.Pietro began playing diatonic
button accordion professionally in a tavern in Seattle in 1908. Within a few short months, his brother Guido (already an accomplished piano-accordionist in Europe) arrived inSeattle , and taught his brother how to play thepiano accordion . Both brothers became minor celebrities on thevaudeville circuit; Guido in 1910 and Pietro at least by 1912.Pietro recorded dozens of records for the
Victor Talking Machine Company . After the demise of vaudeville during theGreat Depression , he opened a successful accordion studio inGreenwich Village , New York City and established an accordion music publishing company: Accordion Music Publishing Company (AMPCO), later simply known as Pietro Deiro Publications.He was the first president of the
American Accordionists Association (1938) and promoted himself as "The Daddy of the Accordion," much to his brother Guido's chagrin. Pietro passed away in 1954. [ Henry Doktorski, "The Brothers Deiro and Their Accordions" (The Classical Free-Reed, Inc., Oakdale, Pennsylvania: 2005)]Recent Commemorations
There has been a recent resurge of interest in the music of Pietro Deiro. In 2002,
Museo Internazionale della Fisarmonica (The International Accordion Museum) ofCastelfidardo , Italy, in collaboration with Music-tech, released a CD titled "I Padri della Fisarmonica, vol. 1: Pietro Deiro", consisting of 23 original recordings by Pietro Deiro from 78 RPM records. In 2004, the Pietro Deiro Archives were donated to "The Center for the Study of Free-Reed Instruments" at the Graduate Center of theCity University of New York by Pietro's granddaughter Sandra Cattani Deiro.In 2005, American author and concert accordionist
Henry Doktorski wrote the first biography of Pietro and Guido Deiro: "The Brothers Deiro and Their Accordions" (The Classical Free-Reed, Inc.) and in 2006 Doktorski recorded on CD the first volume of "The Complete Works of Pietro Deiro: Celebrated Polkas" (The Classical Free-Reed, Inc.). In 2007, Bella Musica of Roma, Italy, released a 6-CD set: "L'abilita artistica di Pietro Deiro" (The Complete Recorded Works of Pietro Deiro from 78 RPM Records) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Pietro's arrival in the United States in 1907. (See external links below.)References
External links
* [http://henrydoktorski.com/recordings/pietropolkas.html "Celebrated Polkas by Pietro Deiro" CD]
* [http://henrydoktorski.com/books/brothersdeiro.html "The Brothers Deiro and Their Accordions"]
* [http://cgi.ebay.com/Complete-Recorded-Works-of-Pietro-Deiro-Accordion-6-CDs_W0QQitemZ110205537262QQihZ001QQcategoryZ307QQcmdZViewItem "The Complete Recorded Works of Pietro Deiro" 6-CD set]
* [http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo_internazionale_della_Fisarmonica_di_Castelfidardo Museo internazionale della fisarmonica]
* [http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietro_Deiro Pietro Deiro in Finnish Wikipedia]
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