ISO Symposium
"How to win new friends for the pipe organ"
Amsterdam 2007

The President of the ISO, Gerhard Grenzing, welcomed participants to this special ISO symposium - which was open to non-members as well as to members - and spoke of how the ISO works to further contacts throughout the international organ world. International speakers from the many professions that work with organ-builders had been invited to address the symposium, and the President hoped that the day's proceedings would help change the public perception of the ISO as a "secret society" and facilitate dialogue between the ISO and the outside world. The pipe organ has always been a prestigious instrument but it needs new friends. He also thanked Hans Fidom and everyone else who had arranged the symposium.

Professor Jürgen Essl

The Musikhochschule Stuttgart owns a collection of eleven organs of different style and high quality. As there are a big organ in the concert hall, a symphonic organ in German style, a symphonic organ in French style, a German baroque instrument (Saxon style), an original Italian organ from 1800, an organ in north German baroque style and a French baroque style instrument. More/download symposium paper (87 kb, .pdf).

Niclas Fredriksson, Swedish National Board of Antiquities

Best friends of the pipe organ, on the occasions I have had the privilege to listen to Professor Harald Vogel, I especially have noticed one expression frequently used: "fabelhaft" or "fabulous". The world of the pipe organ is truly fabulous!. More/download symposium paper (232 kb, .pdf).

Michael Grüber, ORGANpromotion

Ladies and gentlemen! It is both a great pleasure and an honour to speak before you here today. In my organ management function I deal professionally with many aspects of the organ. I myself worked for a little as an organ builder, and I am very conscious of the fact that I am speaking here before an audience of specialists and businessmen. Nevertheless I have chosen for my theme a somewhat philosophical title: The organ - sound of the soul. More/download symposium paper (127 kb, .pdf).

Maggie Hamilton, Deputy Editor, Choir & Organ

Choir & Organ (C&O) is one of five Orpheus titles owned by NSM, the others being The Strad, International Piano, Double Bassist and Classic Record Collector. It was launched in 1993 out of Musical Times magazine. C&O is an independent magazine, not espousing the views of any particular organisation. We are free to canvas opinion and set the agenda for informed debate. More/download symposium paper (170 kb, .pdf) and accompanying illustrations (878 kb, .pdf).

Professor Bernhard Hirche

I consider it an honour to be able to talk to organ builders about my experience in co-designing organs. I also hope to provide a few ideas on how we can win over new friends for the organ. I will use two examples, the design of an organ at the Stiftskirche in Stuttgart and the planned new organ for the cathedral in Lübeck, to demonstrate why and how an architect can play a role in designing organs. More/download symposium paper (95 kb, .pdf) and accompanying illustrations (594 kb, .pdf).

Michael Gerhard Kaufmann

"OrganExpert" is the world's only degree course designed for those who will go on to provide consultancy, to ecclesiastical or national institutions as well as private individuals, on organ projects (designing new organs and copies of historic instruments, supervising the maintenance and restoration of existing instruments). Its development has been funded by the European Union (European Commission) and is presided over by the Vatican (Council of Culture). More/download symposium paper (92 kb, .pdf).

Olivier Latry, Titular Organist Notre Dame, Paris

Olivier Latry asked: Why does the organ seem to have fewer and fewer friends? Before the 1950s there were almost no recordings of organs, and today the music world is very compartmentalised which makes it difficult to reach a wider audience. On the one hand, it is difficult for organ music to enter the more commercial music world and, on the other, it is difficult to find organ records in the already narrowly defined "classical" sections in record shops. Read synopsis.

Laurence Libin, President of the Organ Historical Society, USA

First, on behalf of the Organ Historical Society I congratulate the International Society of Organbuilders on your jubilee. The OHS recently celebrated its own fiftieth birthday, so our societies can look back together over half a century of progress in promoting pipe organs. But still, we need continually to remind people of the importance of organs, not only as musical instruments but also as cultural symbols and as products of artful design and sophisticated technology, today even involving computers. More/download symposium paper (99 kb, .pdf).

Fritz Noack, Organbuilder, Immediate past president of the ISO

It is 60 years since Fritz Noack decided to spend his life building pipe organs. He began by saying that, although all pleasant music is welcome, we should not diminish the pipe organ. Electronic organs have now improved so much that it is up to us to build only very high quality pipe organs. The pipe organ will go on and on! Read synopsis.

Paul Peeters, Organ Documentalist GOArt, Göteborg, Sweden

Research can inspire people to become friends of the organ. Read synopsis.

Ed Pepe, organist and organ historian

Ed Pepe spoke of the organ culture of Mexico. He said that, although many in authority have no interest in the organs and are sometimes even hostile to them, there are many others now in Latin America who are trying to change this approach. Latin America has a fascinating history of organ building from the 17th through the 19th century. Read synopsis.

Johannes Skudlik, Artistic Director, European Organ Festival "Ways to Rome"

The trail of a European Organ Festival organised for the first time in 2005 led along the historic Roman road "Via Claudia Augusta", and over 50 concerts by high-ranking performers brought sound to a region, whose scenic and cultural attraction served numerous performers as inexhaustible source of inspiration for centuries. More/download symposium paper (66 kb, .pdf).

Andrzej Szadejko, organist, Gdańsk

Organ music in Gdańsk, dating back to the 14th century, still has many admirers, listeners and excellent performers. In Poland, unlike most other Western countries, pipe organs have an appreciative audience but are poorly financed, and the challenge is how to fund pipe organs better.Read synopsis.

Katherine Venning, President IBO (Institute of British Organbuilding)

Eighteen months ago, organ builders in the EC were alerted to the possibility that new pipe organs might become illegal. It seems an old joke now, but it was real enough then. The world was probably rather surprised to discover that new pipe organs were being built anywhere, let alone in Britain. The political battle to prevent the gradual extinction of the pipe organ, through a quirk of EU legislation, caught the imagination of those who responded to the RoHS campaign. For a brief period, pipe organs became news, not just for churchgoers and musicians, but for the general public, who were amazed that new organs are being built, new music is being written for the organ, and brilliant young musicians are doing anything so quaint as learning to play this dinosaur of an instrument. More/download symposium paper (84 kb, .pdf).

Bernt Wisgerhof, Vice President, GdO

I am standing here today as representative of the Gesellschaft der Orgelfreunde. The Gesellschaft der Orgelfreunde would like to congratulate the International Society of Organ Builders on this jubilee. We thank you for all the important work that has been done and wish you strength and inspiration to go on with this work for many years to come. The exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of organ building is of invaluable importance for maintaining quality in dealing with historical instruments. Learning from each others creativity and inspiration highly contributes to the quality and diversity of newly built instruments. More/download symposium paper (87 kb, .pdf).