The return of the organ: A life for the keys in Bavaria!

The return of the organ: A life for the keys in Bavaria!

In the midst of a flaming passion for organ building stands Helmut Marx, whose heart beats for the dazzling world of church music. His life's work? To maintain and keep the historical instruments of the Steinmeyer Manufactory alive. Despite the challenges that the job brings with it - many months on assembly, often far from home - this craft remains more than just a job for Marx. His four children have also become musicians of the instrument, underscoring the deep-rooted family tradition. “Despite all adversity, the love for the organ remains unbroken,” says his son Daniel. Especially in Bavaria, where the organ in the monastery church in Speinshart from 1996 represents an emotional reference for Marx, his devotion to music becomes clear Donau-Ries Current reported.

Meanwhile, a unique organ is arousing the interest of music lovers worldwide: the large 71-stop Steinmeyer organ, op. 1400, built in 1925, which is considered one of the few surviving original instruments of this era. Designed by the Berlin concert organist Otto Dunkelberg, it has remained a legacy of organ building over the decades, although it was threatened by the turmoil of the Second World War and the changes brought about by the Neo-Baroque era. It has now been made fully playable again in a three-year restoration process by the Fleiter organ workshop and was inaugurated in 2018. This organ offers a wide range of sounds that allows the performance of music from the 19th to early 20th centuries and impresses with its impressive dynamics, ranging from gentle tones to powerful sounds, such as Main work Forum reported.

These two stories – Helmut Marx's personal journey as an organ builder and the return of a unique instrument to the world of music – demonstrate the profound entanglement of passion and tradition in the world of organ building, a truly enduring legacy of music history.