John Castiglione

[Eddy Yates]

I know that some of you have bought accordions from John Castiglione. Today I enquired about the Gary Dahl Quint Jazz Continental accordion made by Beltuna and received this reply from Angela:  "I am sorry to tell you John Castiglione passed away May 26th. Due to this Castiglione's will not be processing special orders."
I don't think this news was reported here in May, so wanted to let you know so we can play a tune to honor his life as a champion of the instrument. Hope the store can hang on.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/co...john-castiglione-accordion-salesman/93640410/

Angela reported later that they will continue to sell stock items.

 

[Eddy Yates]

The latest from Angela is that Castiglione's will close when all the stock is sold.

From Angela:
Right now there is a used list posted on our website. It is not entirely accurate. We also have a large stock of Beltuna's, Excelsiors, Castiglione's, Bugari among others. People should contact us who want to buy. We are still shipping. We will at some point take people by appointment too.

Angela

 

[Thomas N]

So sorry to hear this. I bought my Excelsior 960 from John twenty years ago. He would take annual trips to Castelfidardo and visit the factory. I was on the phone with him a lot during those months it took for them to build the accordion.

Everything was perfect when I received it.

Major loss for the accordion community and my thoughts go to his family.

 

[stickista]

Oddly, I bought my first good guitar from him or his dad In ‘72. Martin D18s. Not sure why they sold guitars then. Went through music school with it and still have it.
Talked to him a couple of times recently about orders that didn’t end up happening.
Seemed a good man.
Sad loss.

 

[nagant27]

When I turned 16 I got my driving permit and my first highway, long drive, my dad let me drive from western ny to warren, mi. My dad needed something repaired on his cordovox. We spent the day at castiglione’s. I didn’t play the accordion at the time, was a piano player. Years later accordions became my hobby and I’ve loved playing and tinkering with them. I remember being impressed with how big the place was and it was full of accordions and customers coming in and out. Johns repair guy fixed my dads cordovox, we looked at some accordions and amps and drove back. Store was impressive, John was good at what he did. Was a cool experience.

 

[nagant27]

Another sad note to add: I just read that rose from roxys music store in Batavia, ny also passed away. Another great accordion history story. Sad to hear, she was always kind.

 

[Thomas N]

Another sad note to add:  I just read that rose from roxys music store in Batavia, ny also passed away.  Another great accordion history story.  Sad to hear, she was always kind.

Wow. That's the sad thing about being an accordionist.  Most of my interactions have been with people that are a good 30-40 years older than me.  I traded a few calls with Rose before as well - mostly about Roland accordion accessories. You are correct - always friendly and helpful.

I think in just the past year or year and a half so many good accordion people are no longer with us.  

And all of the players that were so instrumental to me - Art Van Damme, Frank Marrocco, Myron Floren, Tony Galla-Rini, Dick Contino, Tony Lovello - and I could add another 20 local players that were incredible. All gone now.

Up to us "kids" to keep it going in their memory.

 

[Zevy]

I bought my Beltuna from John in 2003. I flew to Detroit to spend the day at the store. John was very gracious and he showed me so many different accordions so that I could make a choice. He even took me out to lunch at the Kosher Pizza store in Oak Park. I visited again in 2011 and had them replace the mic system in a different accordion. We will miss him!

 

[Ventura]

John Castiglione was truly supportive of the industry and the musicians..
he was the epitome of the "middle man" working long and tirelessly
to fit the right instrument to the right artist

i had numerous dealings with him over the years, as he always gave
good value to accordionists i referred his way

my best wishes to his family and friends

Rose Caccamise was a friend, and i had done several events
at her store in Batavia New York and the old Downtown location
(mostly showcasing the Roland)

actually, i was responsible for her becoming a V-Accordion Dealer...
her Father (during his days owning the Music Store) had been
the number 1 Cordovox Dealer in the USA...
her Mother was also an accomplished accordionist
(and her old accordion was still on display at the store last visit)

Rose deserves her rest now, for a job well done

ciao

Ventura

 

[Scuromondo]

Does anyone know whether Castiglione’s have closed yet? I emailed several times last week to enquirer about purchasing an instrument and received no response. This week I phoned three times; no one picked up so I left a voicemail message including a callback number, and was never contacted.

 

[Usmcgirl6531]

Does anyone know whether Castiglione’s have closed yet? I emailed several times last week to enquirer about purchasing an instrument and received no response. This week I phoned three times; no one picked up so I left a voicemail message including a callback number, and was never contacted.

I have no idea if you’re still interested but I think I may have one of his accordions and absolutely perfect brand-new condition.

 

[Scuromondo]

I have no idea if you’re still interested but I think I may have one of his accordions and absolutely perfect brand-new condition.

Actually, I ended up purchasing a new instrument last year so I am no longer looking. It was very kind of you to respond. Thank you.