Klais Orgelbau

Klais redirects here. For the Violet-headed Hummingbird, see Klais (bird).

Orgelbau Klais is a German firm that designs, builds and restores pipe organs. It is a family run company, founded in 1882 by Johannes Klais senior and is now run by his great-grandson Philipp Klais. The firm is based in Bonn, Germany, and has completed many large-scale building and restoration projects around the globe in more than a century of organbuilding.

History of the company

Johannes Klais studied organ building in Alsace, Switzerland and Southern Germany. He founded his own organ building workshop in Bonn in 1882. His way of building organs was closely bound up with traditional construction methods using slider windchests. But as early as before the turn of the century he built high pressure stops with two mouths on pneumatic cone valve chests. In 1906, together with his son Hans, he introduced electric action. Hans Klais took over in 1925. In his time facade design began to come under the influence of the modern age, ergonomic console designs were also being developed. Hans Gerd Klais, the founder's grandson, took charge in 1965. Philipp Klais, the great-grandson of the founder, studied organ building in Alsace, France; in Germany; and overseas. He now runs the company.

A few Klais instruments around the world

• The cathedral in Aachen, Germany.
• The cathedral in Cologne, Germany: der Kölner Dom. The main instrument was finished in 1998 and although enormous, it is almost dwarfed inside the colossal gothic church as it clings to the balconies. Klais also restored other organs in the cathedral and added a detached console that operates all of them at once.
• St. Peter's church in Munich, Germany.
• The Cathedral in Trier, Germany, 5602 pipes.
• Hall of the Philharmonie in Kraków, Poland.
• Athens Concert Hall with 6080 pipes, Greece
• The Abbey in Bath, UK.
• St. John's, Smith Square, Westminster, a redundant but still consecrated church which commissioned its organ when the building became a concert hall.
• Symphony Hall, Birmingham, UK. Finished in 2001, the 6000 pipe symphony organ is now the largest mechanical action organ in the UK.
• Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore.
• Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík, Iceland.
• Overture Hall in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
• Petronas Philharmonic Concert Hall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, China. Finished in 2007, the 6500 pipe symphony organ with 94 stops is now the largest organ in China.

References

External links

The official website of Orgelbau Klais