VARHANNÍ KONFERENCE 2026

Title of conference: Organ Conference 2026
Topic: Contemporary Perspectives on Organology and Organ Culture.
Location: HAMU, Malostranské nám. 13,  Prague, Respirium
Date: 16 October 2026 from 10.00 am.

The Organ Conference 2026 serves as a scholarly forum dedicated to contemporary research, performance, and technological perspectives within the field of organ culture. The programme encompasses a broad range of topics, including the documentation and digitalisation of organ heritage, new organological findings concerning the oldest Czech organs, experiences related to the operation of newly built instruments, as well as issues of organ preservation in the context of climate change and its effects on the technical condition of both historical and modern organs. Attention is also given to the international impact of Czech organ building, prominent figures in the field, and their contributions to the development of organ culture in the Central European region.

A distinct thematic strand focuses on issues of historically informed performance practice in organ music, represented by an analysis of J. S. Bach’s Orgelbüchlein and discussions concerning the interpretation of ligatures and rhythmic organisation in historical musical sources. The conference thus offers a synthetic overview of current developments in organology, organ building, and organ performance, while highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary dialogue between scholarly research, artistic practice, and the preservation of cultural heritage. Its aim is to present the organ field as a dynamic discipline responding to the contemporary scholarly, technological, and societal challenges of the twenty-first century.

Program

• Martin Kordas – Organomania.cz – a website dedicated to Czech organs and organ builders in the Czech Republic
• Štěpán Svoboda – New findings regarding the oldest Czech organs
• Jaroslav Tůma – Inspiring experiences with the new Gerhard Grenzing organ in St. Vitus Cathedral
• Marek Vorlíček – The impact of extreme drought on the technical condition of organs
• Andrzej Gładysz – Organs by the Czech firm Tuček in the Diocese of Lublin, Poland
• Ivana Michalovičová – A profile of organ builder Vladimír Šlajch
• Stefan Baier – The dedication of J. S. Bach’s “Orgelbüchlein” and the rhetoric of its opening chorale, “Nun komm der Heiden Heiland”
• Christophe Manteaux – Reflections on ties and note durations in organ music

This output was created at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague as part of the "Organ Conference 2026" with the support of the Institutional Endowment for the Long Term Conceptual Development of Research Institutes, as provided by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic in the year 2026.