Project idea
The bandoneon, the soul of the tango, once travelled to Argentina with German emigrants and returned to its homeland with the tango.
It is a little-known fact though that this instrument originated in Chemnitz, as the bandoneon is a further development of the concertina, an invention by Carl Friedrich Uhlig from Chemnitz that dates back to 1834.
European Capital of Culture project
The Sächsische Mozart-Gesellschaft e. V. is building on this history with bandoneon lessons, milongas and concerts during the Capital of Culture Year 2025 in Chemnitz.
Chemnitz – the cradle of the bandoneon
The concertina was invented by Carl Friedrich Uhlig in Chemnitz and first published in 1834 as a “new type of accordion”. From this concertina, Saxon instrument makers in Chemnitz, Carlsfeld and Waldheim refined this instrument and were instrumental in the development and construction of the bandoneon. It was named after the music dealer Heinrich Band in Krefeld. Eventually, the bandoneon was exported worldwide through the Alfred Arnold company in Carlsfeld (Saxony/Erzgebirge) and became famous on a global scale.