Severance Skinner, Saved by Schantz #0123

Wake up and smell the coffee. The pipe organ is making a comeback in some American concert halls, as capacity audiences at Cleveland’s Severance Hall know full well. Think about it - when was the last time 2,000-plus people paid top dollar for tickets to a solo organ concert? This week’s Pipedreams program shares the Ohio celebration with selections from inaugural-series recitals by Thomas Murray, Gillian Weir, and Thomas Trotter. built in 1931 by the famous Ernest M. Skinner of Boston, had been unheard and long forgotten in an inaccessible above-stage chamber. For the past seven decades it had been akin to a “hidden treasure.” Now the Norton Memorial Organ has taken the place of pride immediately behind the orchestra, the result of an extensive auditorium renovation. In virtually every detail, the organ has been restored by the Schantz Company of Orrville, Ohio with its original voice intact. Enjoy the exquisite period colors and the impressive power of “The Severance Skinner, Saved by Schantz” this week on Pipedreams.