Strahov organ, once played by Mozart, set for major renovation

  • Strahov organ, once played by Mozart, set for major renovation
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The organ at Prague’s Strahov Monastery, famously played by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart during his visit to the city, is set to undergo a major renovation. Along with it, a smaller organ in the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary will also be restored. The Strahov Premonstratensians have raised a public collection for the restoration.

Photo: Martin Čech,  Strahov Monastery

In the autumn of 1787, during his second visit to Prague, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart stopped by the Strahov Monastery to try out the organ, crafted by Jan Lohelius Oehlschlägel just a few years earlier. He sat at the instrument and began to improvise, while Norbert Lehman, a priest and musician who accompanied him, observed and transcribed as much of the performance as he could.

Martin Christian Pšenička, the provisor of the Strahov Monastery, explains:

“Unfortunately, Mozart was interrupted around bar 50 of his improvisation, which is why the piece exists only in an incomplete form. What remains is more like a sketch, and it presents an interesting challenge for organists today—they either need to improvise to complete the piece or simply leave it unfinished.”

Photo: Martin Čech,  Strahov Monastery

More than two centuries later, the organ played by Mozart is in a serious state of disrepair. The smaller choir organ also requires extensive rebuilding. Mr. Pšenička describes the historical significance and challenges of preserving the instruments:

“Both organs have beautiful Baroque cases that originally housed a set of Baroque pipes from the late 18th century. However, in the 19th century, as musical tastes evolved, the instruments were rebuilt in the Romantic style. By the 1980s, a third restoration was carried out, but the materials and methods used at that time have not aged well. Now, both organs are at the end of their service lives.”

The restoration started with constructing a new instrument for the smaller choir organ, which is being built in the workshop of organ builder Joachim Stade in Waltershausen, Germany. The goal is to create an instrument that will match the sound of the original, richly decorated Baroque case.

Photo: Martin Čech,  Strahov Monastery

The project is estimated to cost €445,000, with the Premonstratensians aiming to raise half the funds through public donations. The new organ is expected to be completed by June 2025, with several more months needed for installation and tuning. Afterward, work will begin on the larger organ once played by Mozart.

The Strahov organs were designed to be in tune with one another, and Mr. Pšenička looks forward to the day they can perform together once again:

“Playing two organs simultaneously is a great challenge for organists. In Italy, where this is very common, the instruments are often positioned facing each other in the presbytery. Here at Strahov, the acoustic arrangement allows for a special kind of dialogue between the two organs and we can’t wait for the day when both instruments are tuned and ready for this musical interplay once again.”

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