Saturday, January 10, 2015

Remembering Walter Kühr

Walter Kühr, the owner of the Main Squeeze Accordion shop on Essex Street, died on Jan. 2 after fighting lymphoma for seven years. He was 59.

The Times checks in with a detailed feature obituary, noting: "From his boyhood in Germany to the end of his life, he sought to prove that the accordion, long derided, is actually 'the hippest instrument on the planet.'"

Unfortunately, his 19-year-old shop at 19 Essex St. will close next week. As Jeremiah Moss reports, the shop would have had to close anyway — the landlord chose not to renew the lease.

There's a stoop sale at the shop next weekend. Jeremiah has more details here.

[Photo by A. Jesse Jiryu Davis for The Lo-Down]
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2015 at 9:15 AM

    When I was a kid, there were three instruments I hated, alphabetically: accordion, bag pipes, banjo.

    When I got older, I came to really like the accordion and the banjo – I still hate the bag pipes though, for anything other than leading the charge into battle.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2015 at 10:24 AM

    Quite sad, his lease and life ran out at the same time.

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  3. GojiraJanuary 10, 2015 at 10:30 AM

    Ruhe in Frieden, liebe Herr.

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  4. Andrew TyndallJanuary 10, 2015 at 12:21 PM

    NPR's tribute by Jon Kalish this morning.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2015 at 2:33 PM

    What a great guy and a great player.

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  6. AnonymousJanuary 18, 2015 at 5:21 PM

    sorry that i didn't receive word in time to attend the memorial. he was a cultural icon in many ways - and had an almost mythological rapport in the downtown music world. everyone who played accordion knew walter. or had heard of him. he enriched our lives and was always willing to share his enthusiasm and his expertise. i bought an accordion from him long long long ago - and he offered many many many times to buy it back at four times the price!!! i am still playing the same squeeze box today. yes, he was a living and a loving treasure.......

    ReplyDelete

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