Flentrop is a Dutch company based in

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Za ...

that builds and restores

organs In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a fu ...

History

It was established in 1903 by Hendrik Wicher Flentrop (1866 -1950) from

Koog aan de Zaan Koog aan de Zaan () is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zaanstad, and lies about 11 km northwest of Amsterdam. History Koog aan de Zaan developed in the 16th century on the western bank of ...

. Hendrik, originally a house painter by trade, was an organist at the Westzijderkerk in Zaandam, and started a piano- and organ trade. He believed that old organs could not be adapted to contemporary tastes, but had valid sound nonetheless. In 1915, after experience had been gained with restoration and extension of organs, the first new organ was built. Beginning in 1922 he corresponded with

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schwei ...

, which resulted in pronounced opinions concerning the demands which had to be made on the organ.

Dirk Andries Flentrop Dirk Andries Flentrop (1 May 1910 – 30 November 2003) was a Dutch organ builder. He built or restored many major organs in the United States and in Europe. He was noted for his 1977 restoration of two organs from the 17th and 18th centuries ...

(1910-2003), son of Hendrik Wicher Flentrop and Christina Anna Dekker, took control of the company in 1940. Important organs, such as that of Hans van Covelen in the large church at

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...

, and the Schnitger organs in the large church at

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

and the Laurenskerk in Alkmaar, were restored. In addition he built numerous instruments in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(most notably those in

Adolphus Busch Hall Adolphus Busch Hall is a Harvard University building located at 27 Kirkland Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is named for brewer and philanthropist Adolphus Busch, former president of the Anheuser-Busch company, who contributed $265,000 to i ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and in St. Mark's Cathedral, in Seattle, Washington), and restored two in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. J. A. Steketee (b. 1936) led the company from 1976 to 1998. Under his direction, the organ of Johannes Duyschot in the Westzijderkerk at Zaandam was restored. Tasks were also carried out in foreign countries:

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

, and

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

. Additionally, the organ of the Holy Name Cathedral was built in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and in the Netherlands the organs of the Westerkerk and the

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

, and the St. John's Cathedral, were restored. Cees van Oostenbrugge was managing director from 1998 until his death in 2008. During his tenure, a new restoration was carried out of the Hans van Covelen organ, which is the oldest playable organ of the Netherlands, originally built in 1511. Frits Elshout was managing director from 2008 through 2016, followed by Erik Winkel. All directors have also been church organists. ''This article is based on that in the Dutch Wikipedia''

References

{{Commons category, Flentrop Companies established in 1903 Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the Netherlands Pipe organ building companies Dutch brands Zaanstad