OFFER OF DONATION OF SURPLUS PROPERTY BY THE ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTS IN PRAGUE
Offer of donation of surplus property by the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (hereinafter referred to as AMU)
The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, a public university, offers for donation, in accordance with the provisions of Bursar’s Directive 3/2021 on the disposal of surplus and unusable AMU property, the organ located in the Bohuslav Martinů Hall of the Lichtenstein Palace at Malostranské náměstí 258/13, 118 00 Prague 1.
This is a matter of public interest, where a gratuitous transfer appears to be more economical than any other method of disposing of surplus property. The gratuitous transfer will be carried out by concluding a donation agreement.
AMU prefers to conclude a donation agreement with a party interested in donating the entire organ for further use, rather than in parts. The priority is the continued use of the instrument in fully functional condition at another location, in a concert hall or a church, in order to preserve the artistic and historical value of this instrument.
A possible option is relocating the instrument for future use for educational purposes, e.g., in elementary or secondary schools.
Description of the Offered Property
- The organ was built by the Rieger-Kloss organ-building company in 1993 as Opus No. 3656 at a time when the golden age of the company’s dominance during the socialist era was coming to an end. Later, the instrument was acoustically modified by a foreign voicer according to the owner’s requirements. The instrument is a testament to the development of the organ-building craft at the now-defunct Krnov company. The organ action is built into a Neo-Baroque organ case that echoes the design of the Bohuslav Martinů Hall. The organ has a total of 41 sounding stops across three manuals and the pedal. The keyboards have a wide range of C – c´´´´, 61 keys, and the pedal range is C – g´. The versatile disposition of the instrument, designed for educational and concert purposes, is the work of Prof. Hora and Prof. Syrový. The Great and III. manuals are based on an 8´ principal, and the II. manual on a 4´ principal. All manuals feature a rich array of harmonic stops, bell stops, and reed stops. Slurs are relatively scarce, appearing only on the I. and III. manuals. The instrument is equipped with all standard couplers; sub- and super-octave couplers are not provided. The organ is equipped with an electronic memory system (Setzer). The instrument stands at the front of a hall with a capacity of 200 people; visually, it is situated on the stage platform, but it is actually mounted on the hall floor. The mechanical console stands in line with the instrument in front of the organ case; the organist sits facing the façade. The action is mechanical, the stop action is purely electric, and the windchests are drawer-type with telescopic seals. Despite intensive use, the action shows no significant wear, and there are no signs of corrosion or woodworm or mold infestation anywhere. The windchests also appear to be in good technical condition.
The pipe material is of high quality; the bore of the principal stop is slightly narrower than that of a standard principal. The air pressure is 67 mm WS, and the tuning pitch is a’ 443 Hz at 23.5 °C. The instrument is located in a concert hall, not in a church, which determined its specific voicing; however, the pipework has the potential for revoicing. The layout of the individual sections was designed for the given space with regard to local operational needs (e.g., access through the base to the backstage area) and the concert hall’s other uses. The organ case is thus approximately 9.5 m wide and 2.4 m deep; to this must be added the depth of the console, which is 121 cm. Part of the instrument (small pedalboard, reed windchest) is located in a room behind the hall. The organ mechanism is built into the structure (it is not suspended within the case), and the facade pipes are integrated into the organ case.
- The dismantling of the existing organ will be carried out by a specialized organ-building firm in March/April 2028 (the estimated timeframe is approximately 14 days); the dismantling date will be fixed; transportation will be arranged by the recipient.
- The organ motor is located in the attic of the Liechtenstein Palace and will not be part of the dismantling; the motor will not be used if the organ is built in a different location, so a new one will have to be purchased.
If you are interested in viewing the property, a viewing will be possible upon prior email arrangement with the contact person: Jana Chadimová, email: jana.chadimova@hamu.cz
