The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street New York, N.Y. 10128 http://www.metmuseum.org Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium Organ Specifications: ► II/30 Holtkamp Organ Company (1965) ► II/23 Rieger Orgelbau (1952) See also the Equestrian Court.               The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium in The Metropolitan Museum of Art was created as part of an ambitious rebuilding program costing $9.6 million in the 1950s. It was named for the philanthropist and patron of the arts whose estate provided a generous grant toward the the construction of the $1.2 million auditorium. The 708-seat auditorium, which replaced the smaller lecture hall in the North (Egyptian) Wing of the museum, was designed by Voorhees, Walker, Foley & Smith. A ground floor entrance at Fifth Avenue and 83rd Street was provided to allow the auditorium to be used without opening the entire museum. Its 1,450-square-foot stage can accommodate a symphony orchestra and chorus, and originally had a movable plaster partition that cut off a third of the area for a single speaker; curved sound reflectors above the stage help to project the sound. The acoustics were designed by Bolt, Beranek & Newman of Cambridge, Mass. The auditorium opened to an invited audience of Museum members on Tuesday, May 11, 1954. Margaret Hillis conducted a concert performance of Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie that was presented by 15 solo singers and accompanied by period instruments from the Met's extensive collection. On the following day, a series of free organ recitals was begun by Claire Coci, who was then the official organist of the New York Philharmonic Symphony Society. Since its opening, the auditorium has been a popular venue for musical concerts and lectures.                   click on images to enlarge Holtkamp Organ Company Cleveland, Ohio (1965) Electric key, stop and combination action 2 manuals, 21 stops, 30 ranks, 1,540 pipes The two-manual Holtkamp organ in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium of The Metropolitan Museum of Art is installed in a chamber behind the left stage wall. When not in use, the organ pipes are concealed by movable African korina wood panelling, and the console is stored in an area below the chests. E. Power Biggs opened the organ on Saturday, December 18, 1965, in a concert with the Musica Aeterna Orchestra, Frederic Waldman conducting. Mr. Biggs' program included Handel's "The Cuckoo and the Nightingale," Mozart's "Epistle Sonata" in C major, K.317a, and Poulenc's "Concerto in G minor" for organ, strings and timpani. It is believed that the organ was last used ca. 1996. In the Fall of 2006, the organ was found to be in very good working condition.                 Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes 8   Copula 61 2   Doublette 61 8   Quintadena 61 1   Mixture (IV ranks) 244 4   Octave 61 8   Schalmey 61 4   Flute 61                   Positiv Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes 8   Copula 61 2 2/3   Sesquialtera (II ranks) 122 4   Rohrflöte 61 1/2   Scharf (III ranks) 183 2   Octave 61 8   Krummhorn 61 1 1/3   Quinte 61                 Pedal Organ – 32 notes 16   Coppel 32 2   Rauschpfeife (IV ranks) 128 8   Gedackt 32 16   Fagott 32 4   Choral Bass 32 4   Schalmey 32 2   Octavin 32                         Couplers     Great to Pedal   Positiv to Great     Positiv to Pedal                     Combinations (adjustable by setterboard)     Great Organ 1-2-3-4 (thumb)     Positiv Organ 1-2-3-4 (thumb)     Pedal Organ 1-2-3-4 (toe)     Generals 1-2-3-4 (thumb and toe)                 Reversibles     Great to Pedal (toe and thumb)     Full Organ (toe)                 Pedal Movements     Balanced Swell Pedal                         Setterboard               Rieger Orgelbau Schwarzach, Austria – "Model DRP 1" (1952) Mechanical key action 2 manuals, 21 stops, 23 ranks The original organ in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium was built in 1952 by Rieger Orgelbau of Austria. According to the Uwe Pape book, The Tracker Organ Revival in America, the Rieger organ was relocated to the Buffalo, N.Y. residence of Jack Barr in 1975.                 Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes 16   Quintadena 61 2 2/3   Nazard 61 8   Rohrflöte 61 2   Gemshorn 61 8   Koppelflöte 61 1 3/5   Terz 61 4   Prestant 61   Mixture, 3f 183   Positiv Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes 8   Gedeckt 61 1   Sifflöte 61 4   Holzflöte 61   Cymbel, 2f 122 2   Principal 61 8   Krummhorn 61 1 1/3   Quinte 61   Tremolo                 Pedal Organ – 32 notes 16   Subbass 12 2   Loch Gedeckt 32 8   Gedeckt 12   Rauschpfeife, 2f 64 4   Gedecktflöte 32 8   Regal 32                 Couplers     Great to Pedal               Positiv to Great                         Sources:      The American Organist, July 1962. Specifications of similar Rieger organ (c.1950).      Brown, John Mason. "The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 12, No. 9 (May, 1954).      "E. Power Biggs Plays as Museum Unveils Organ," article in The New York Times, Dec. 20, 1965.      Holtkamp Organ Company: http://www.holtkamporgan.com/      The Metropolitan Museum of Art: http://www.metmuseum.org      "Museum Finishing New Auditorium," article in The New York Times, May 2, 1954.      "Music Finds a Place in Metropolitan Museum as New Auditorium is Opened," article in The New York Times, May 16, 1954.      Pape, Uwe. The Tracker Organ Revival in America: Die Orgelbewegung in Amerika. Berlin: Pape Verlag, 1978. Courtesy James Stettner.      Rieger Orgelbau website: http://www.rieger-orgelbau.com/ Photos:      The American Organist, September 1952: Rieger Organ "Model DRP 1" (1952).      Lawson, Steven E.: Holtkamp organ (1965).               | NYC AGO Home Page | Back to NYC Organ Project List |