Originally, when it was built in 1962 as Philharmonic Hall, it had a fine instrument by the distinguished American organ builder Aeolian-Skinner, with 5,498 pipes. But in 1976, it was unceremoniously extracted to provide more office and storage space, and if possible to improve the lacklustre acoustics of the venue, renamed Avery Fisher Hall in 1973. An\u00a0electronic organ that supplanted the Aeolian-Skinner was widely regarded as a disappointment (Carnegie Hall suffered a similar fate, having its own pipe organ removed in 1966).\u00a0<\/p>
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After 2015, when Geffen Hall acquired its present name for the donor behind its latest renovation, many music lovers hoped that at long last a magnificent pipe organ would be restored to at least one of New York City’s two concert halls. We saw it as a\u00a0golden opportunity to fill this obtrusive void in the cultural landscape. And there were generous contributors willing to raise the funds for an acoustic instrument. But as one of them said, ‘The powers that be just didn’t want it.’<\/p>
Instead, administrators opted to install another electronic (or ‘digital’) organ, a substitute for the real thing. This misguided decision, made hastily during the malaise of the Covid pandemic, was as baffling as it is unfortunate. The New York Philharmonic, a venerable, well-heeled institution, shouldn’t present to the public a facsimile of a pipe organ.\u00a0<\/p>
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Organist Paul Jacobs: ‘The venerable New York Philharmonic shouldn’t present a facsimile of a pipe organ’<\/figcaption><\/figure> Imagine the reaction if the Metropolitan Museum of Art substituted photographic reproductions of original paintings in its galleries, or if the New York Botanical Garden hung artificial\/plastic plants in its glass conservatory. You wouldn’t have to be an art expert or a horticulturist to recognize the problem.\u00a0 But the Philharmonic went ahead and substituted an electronic instrument for a pipe organ, assuming that audiences either wouldn’t notice or, if they did, wouldn’t care.<\/p>
When considering the burgeoning number of pipe organs in concert halls around the globe, New York is now a stark outlier.\u00a0In the United States, they are essential fixtures in venues from coast to coast. The Los Angeles Philharmonic and The Philadelphia Orchestra, just two examples, regularly programme not just solo organ recitals but also orchestral works that feature the organ (there are literally hundreds of such pieces), and commission dazzling new organ concerti.\u00a0<\/p>
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Gustavo Dudamel and Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin, the music directors of these respective orchestras, and with whom I\u2019ve had the pleasure of collaborating, personally understand the deep sense of civic pride that results from having a marvellous organ. Angelenos affectionately call their instrument at Walt Disney Concert Hall<\/a><\/strong> ‘Hurricane Mama’. Philadelphians have been known to lie down on the wooden floor of Verizon Hall\u2019s stage, relishing the seismic sonorities of nearly 7,000 pipes.<\/p>
![\"Organ](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/06\/Organ-at-Verizon-Hall-Philadelphia-by-Paul-Jacobs-1-scaled.jpeg\")
The impressive organ at Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall: ‘Philadelphians have been known to lie down on the wooden floor of Verizon Hall\u2019s stage, relishing the seismic sonorities of nearly 7,000 pipes.’ Pic: Paul Jacobs – Paul Jacobs<\/figcaption><\/figure> This is not just an American trend. On New Year\u2019s Day 2024, the Helsinki Music Centre in Finland proudly inaugurated the largest concert hall organ in the world. Encased in a tree branch-like sculpture, it features state of the art 3D-printed pipes and wind lines. Last year, a behemoth instrument was unveiled<\/a><\/strong> in the concert hall of Katowice, Poland. <\/p>
The Philharmonie de Paris and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, halls constructed in the past decade,\u00a0are furnished with impressive organs. London boasts two: one in the Royal Albert Hall<\/a><\/strong>, the other (refurbished in 2013) in the Royal Festival Hall<\/a><\/strong>. The largest pipe organ in Asia was unveiled in 2018 at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts in Taiwan. Concert halls in Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo are also fully equipped. The list is staggering.\u00a0<\/p>
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The pipe organ is a\u00a0wind\u00a0<\/em>instrument played from one or more keyboards, with lungs (bellows) that breathe air into rows of speaking pipes, each one meticulously voiced to suit a specific acoustical environment. The rich, visceral tone produced by gleaming organ pipes can\u2019t be cloned by a nest of loudspeakers, which results in a more clinical, less inspiring sound.<\/p>
![\"Organ](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-5673752512-copy.png\")
Chelsea Chen(top) and Christoph Bull performing Ravel’s Bol\u00e9ro together at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles.Pic: Lawrence K. Ho\/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images – Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure> If the negligible role played by the previous electronic organ at Geffen is any indication, there will be a minimal desire to feature the latest digital iteration. Doubtless it will occasionally be brought out for the popular Saint-Sa\u00ebns<\/a><\/strong> ‘Organ’ Symphony, as it was in November, but the vast repertoire for organ and orchestra, past and current, will go largely unexplored. And no new artistic territory will be charted through the commissioning of living composers. The instrument and the art form simply won\u2019t be taken seriously.<\/p>
For Geffen, it seems that \u201cspace\u201d \u2013 not artistic considerations or funding \u2013 was the expedient justification for installing speakers instead of pipes. It would be elucidating to learn how many (pipe) organ builders were actually consulted. Their unique expertise and ability to conceptualize would be critical in the early stages of planning a major renovation, if, in fact, a pipe organ was ever being seriously considered.\u00a0<\/p>
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![\"Hurricane](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-5399395941-copy.png\")