The Curtis Organ, named for publisher Cyrus H.K. Curtis, is one of the largest pipe organs in the world with 162 ranks and 10,731 pipes. The concert organ, of American Symphonic design, was manufactured by the

Austin Organ Company Austin Organs, Inc., is a manufacturer of pipe organs based in Hartford, Connecticut. The company is one of the oldest continuously-operating organ manufacturers in the United States. The first instruments were built in 1893 with the Austin Patent ...

as its Opus 1416 in 1926 for the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Sesquicentennial Exposition The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its purpose was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary o ...

. It was known as the "Organists' Organ" because the specifications were formulated by Henry S. Fry, John M'E. Ward, Rollo F. Maitland, Frederick Maxson, and S. Wesley Sears, all prominent Philadelphia organists.

History

Curtis acquired the instrument after the Exposition went bankrupt "...the entire festival was placed into equity receivership by the United States District Court on April 27, 1927." Philadelphia City Archives, Record Group 232, Sesquicentennial Exhibition Association. and donated it to the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, where it was divided into two halves and incorporated into

Irvine Auditorium Irvine Auditorium is a performance venue at 3401 Spruce Street on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. It was designed by the firm of prominent Philadelphia area architect Horace Trumbauer and built 1926–1932. Irvin ...

at the time of the building's construction. The organ contains the largest Universal Air Chest ever built by Austin. In its original configuration in the Auditorium building, the organ spread 75 feet across its platform at the

. This pressurized room under the pipes allows access to the organ's pneumatic mechanisms while it is playing, and was touted as being able to seat 100 people to dinner comfortably. The organ's mechanical actions were renewed in the 1950s through the generosity of Mary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist, daughter of Cyrus H.K. Curtis and founder of The Curtis Institute of Music. In the later 1980s and early 1990s, the organ was connected to a customized

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...

interface, making it, at that time, the world's largest MIDI-capable instrument. In more recent times, the Austin Organ Company carried out a complete mechanical restoration of the organ (with a new console and relay system added), carefully preserving the organ's tonal integrity. It was rededicated in October 2002. In October 1972

Keith Chapman Keith Chapman (born 1959) is a British television writer and producer, best known as the creator of children's television programmes ''Bob the Builder'' and ''PAW Patrol.'' Biography He worked for Jim Henson International, designing characters ...

accompanied the Lon Chaney silent film ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

'' as a fund-raiser for the organ that evolved into an annual campus Halloween event. Cyrus Curtis also gave an Austin organ to nearby Drexel University, and to the auditorium of City Hall in Portland, Maine.

Discography featuring the Curtis Organ

• ''Music From The Curtis Organ'', Ted Alan Worth (1988) ORS CD-141601br> • ''A Midsummer Night’s Dream'', Ken Cowan (1997) ORS CD-141602

References

External links

Facebook Public PageFacebook Fan GroupUniversity of Pennsylvania's Curtis Organ page
{{coord, 39.9509, -75.19300, region:US-PA_type:landmark, display=title Electric and electronic keyboard instruments Individual pipe organs University of Pennsylvania Culture of Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Exposition 1926 works

History

Discography featuring the Curtis Organ

See also

References

External links