Resounding organ cosmos
Festive weekend to celebrate the inauguration of the new concert organ at the Music High School Schloss Belvedere
With the addition of a large new organ, the “Organ Cosmos of the Music High School Schloss Belvedere” is now complete. The Music High School, which is a Centre for the Highly Gifted at the Weimar Music University, is celebrating the inauguration of the new instrument with a festive weekend on November 1 and 2.
The three-manual organ with its 22 sounding registers was built by Dlabal and Mettler in the school's concert hall. The organ is currently being voiced by master organ builder Boris Mettler and Weimar organ professor Martin Sturm.
The festive weekend is under the patronage of Thuringia's Minister President Mario Voigt and will be opened on Saturday, November 1, at 4:00 p.m. in the concert hall with a ceremony. In addition to welcoming speeches by Thuringia's Minister of Education Christian Tischner and the generous donor of the organ, Brigitte Seebacher, among others, the focus will be on music.
The choir of the Music High School will sing under the direction of Marian Grosew, and organ students from Prof. Martin Sturm's class at Belvedere will perform works by Bach and Dupré on the new organ.
On the evening of November 1, a gala concert will follow at 7:30 p.m. in the concert hall, featuring the choir and organ students as well as the Music High School orchestra under Joan Pagès Valls and organists Martin Sturm, Nicolo Procaccini, and Kilian Homburg. The varied program includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Francis Poulenc, and Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, among others.
The festive weekend will be rounded off on Sunday, November 2, at 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. with short organ concerts for children, followed by an organ soirée at 5:00 p.m. on the new concert organ. Martin Sturm will interpret works by Bach, Pachelbel, and Reger—and will also improvise.
The new organ has a total of 1,586 pipes, including 1,162 metal pipes, 266 wooden pipes, and 158 reed pipes. The mobile console with its three manuals and pedal can be placed anywhere in the hall.
Thanks to the electronic control system, 20 of the 22 organ stops can be freely assigned to the manuals and the pedal. The design of the organ's facade reflects both the architectural style of the hall and the azure blue of the hall ceiling. The Music High School Schloss Belvedere now offers outstanding conditions for learning to play the organ at the highest artistic level.
In addition to the concert organ by Dlabal and Mettler, the students have access to three other high-quality instruments. The concert hall also houses a two-manual Walcker organ (1877) and a three-manual organ harmonium by Kotykiewicz (ca. 1900). In addition, the choir hall of the Music High School Schloss Belvedere has a two-manual Ott organ (1968), which completes the ‘Organ Cosmos of the Music High School Schloss Belvedere.’
From slider chests and cone chests to the most modern electric action, the Music High School offers the opportunity to experience and learn a wide variety of construction and playing styles from the Baroque and Romantic periods to the present day. The tonal concept brings together centuries of organ history in a small space and fits seamlessly into the globally significant Central German organ landscape.
Further information: www.musikgymnasium-belvedere.de
[9 October 2025]