User:Ivobaldoni/sandbox

Ivo Baldoni born in Castelfidardo, Italy is 3rd generation in the accordion business. The Baldoni family business is firmly rooted in Castelfidardo, Italy, a small town near Florence which has been the country’s accordion Mecca since 1863. Baldoni enthusiastically walks in the footsteps of his grandfather and his father, both of whom were involved in the business of making an instrument that was so popular worldwide for so many decades.

“At one time, Detroit, Michigan was America’s capital of the automobile industry,” said Baldoni. “Our town, Castelfidardo, is still the capital of accordion manufacturing. Our founding father, Paolo Soprani, is like the Henry Ford.”

Baldoni’s father, Alfonso, worked in the accordion business in Castelfidardo before moving his family to Milwaukee to pursue his career. After eight years in the United States, Alfonso broke away from his accordion employer to begin his own accordion business, A. Baldoni Music Service Inc. on Brady Street. The family moved to Menomonee Falls in 1991 and commuted back and forth to Milwaukee for three years before finally moving the business to its present location in 1995. Alfonso Baldoni, widely acclaimed for his superb ear in tuning accordions, passed away in 2006.