Unusual Hayden Concertina

[Randy Stein]

I played last evening and a young man sat in with a most unusual concertina. It was a Hayden with 65 keys and very pretty fret work. He inherited it from his grandfather who brought it here when he emigrated from Russia. It was heavier than other concertinas I've encountered and in great need of some tuning and reed replacement, maybe some additional pad and pan work. The kid was still learning to play and I was not much help since I haven't really played a duet in years. But it was nice to see none the less.

Edited October 5, 2010 by Randy Stein

[Jim Albea]

If you see him again definitely get some photos!

[JimLucas]

If you see him again definitely get some photos!

Not just photos.

I am very curious about the origin of the instrument.

 

Samantha (maybe she'll chime in later, but she's busy at the moment with last-minute preparations for the Arran Concertina Event) says she's not aware that Q ever made a second Haydenovskaya. So is this an independent development that we haven't heard of before? When was it built, and by whom? And where did the builder learn about the Hayden layout? (I'm assuming that Randy is familiar enough with the Hayden layout that he's not confusing it with some other unisonoric transposing layout.)

[Dana Johnson]

If you see him again definitely get some photos!

Not just photos.

I am very curious about the origin of the instrument.

 

Samantha (maybe she'll chime in later, but she's busy at the moment with last-minute preparations for the Arran Concertina Event) says she's not aware that Q ever made a second Haydenovskaya. So is this an independent development that we haven't heard of before? When was it built, and by whom? And where did the builder learn about the Hayden layout? (I'm assuming that Randy is familiar enough with the Hayden layout that he's not confusing it with some other unisonoric transposing layout.)

Indeed! it sounds like this may predate Brian himself.

Dana

[Stephen Chambers]

When was it built, and by whom? And where did the builder learn about the Hayden layout?

Indeed! it sounds like this may predate Brian himself.

Maybe it's a Wicki System???

[Jim Bayliss]

This is potentially of great interest since there is a big question as to whether Kaspar Wicki was ever able to get any instruments built based on his 1896 patent.

So far as I know, none of these pre-Hayden instruments are known to exist.

[David Barnert]

Wicki developed the system (later independently developed by Hayden) that describes the button layout in Hayden concertinas. But has there ever been even a suggestion that Wicki was thinking about concertinas when he did his work? I was under the impression that Hayden was the first to apply the Wicki/Hayden layout to the concertina, either in theory or practice.

 

Another possibility here (unlikely but not impossible) is that this is simply one of the old Bastari Hayden 67-key rectangular instruments (see description here and picture in ragtimer's avatar associated with that post) and the Russian history is either mistaken or a red herring.

[Jim Bayliss]

As I understand it, Wicki had the bandoneon in mind for his keyboard arrangement. And with the possible exception of the Gabla (with its keys slanted to the front), bandoneons are generally considered to be a form of the concertina. I also suspect that this instrument is one of the square Bastaris. If any Wicki bandoneons were ever made, I suspect that they might have either been destroyed in one of the wars or shipped to Argentina. From an overview of his patents, Wicki had his hand in a lot of pots and probably didn't get any made.

Edited October 17, 2010 by Jim Bayliss

[JimLucas]

Myself, I'm hoping for a bit more from Randy... such not-very-detailed "details" as general size, how many sides to the ends, button size, and how the "very pretty fret work" compared in delicacy with vintage English concertinas.