József Angster

József Angster

József Angster (German Josef Angster ; born July 7, 1834 in Jagodnjak , Kingdom of Slavonia and Croatia, Austrian Empire ; † June 9, 1918 in Pécs , Austria-Hungary ) was an organ builder of Austrian origin in Pécs in Hungary. He founded the most important organ building company in the country.

Life

Josef Angster was born in Jagodnjak (German Katschfeld , Hungarian Kacsfalú ) into a family who had emigrated from Michelstetten in Lower Austria to Croatia in 1790 and lived there with other Germans and Austrians. Josef Angster trained in a carpentry shop and in 1854 went hiking in the area to Timişoara. In 1856 he went to Vienna and learned organ and harmonium building from Peter Titz . In 1861 Angster moved to Dresden , Leipzig and Cologne , and the following year to Switzerland . From 1863 he worked in Paris with Aristide Cavaillé-Coll , the most important organ builder of his time, and was involved in the construction of several important organs. Cavaillé-Coll is said to have offered him a marriage to his sister.

Josef Angster returned in 1866 and the following year founded an organ and harmonium factory in Pécs, Hungary . In 1869 the first organ for the synagogue there was completed. In 1887 the hundredth new building and renovation (Opus 100) was created. At the beginning of the 1890s there were around 50–60 employees in the company. At the Millennium Exhibition in Budapest in 1896, the company received a gold medal.

In 1903 Josef Angster handed the company over to his sons Emil and Oskar. Around 1918 the company employed around 100 to 120 people. In 1940 the grandson József took over the management with his cousin Imre, in 1949 the company was nationalized and closed in 1950. Over 1300 organs were built or rebuilt in total, over 3000 harmonies were produced.

Josef Angster was a very pious man who occasionally attended a Catholic mass at least once a day. His mother tongue was German, in which he also wrote, and in recent years he has also written in Hungarian.

Organs (selection)

József Angster created over 400 new organs and reconstructions by 1903. Many of them have been preserved. By 1950 the opus number rose to 1307 by his sons and grandchildren. Instruments were built mainly in Hungary, but also in all other countries of the Habsburg Monarchy, one in Rome.

year	place	building	image	Manuals	register	opus	Remarks
1869	Pécs	synagogue		II / P	24	1	first organ
1887	Pécs	cathedral		III / P	46	100	1912 pneumatically rebuilt and expanded to III / P, 48
1890	Budapest -Theresienstadt	church		III / P	34	142
1895	Győr	cathedral		III / P	32	230
1905	Budapest	St. Stephen's Basilica		III / P	65	450	1932 expansion to IV / P, 76 by the sons, 1938 expansion to IV / P, 79 by Rieger , 1989–1993 restoration and expansion to 93 registers
1912	Eger	Basilica , today cathedral		III / P	60	800	Main organ
1930	Szeged	cathedral		V / P	91		Main organ, connected to the choir organ in 1930, in 1931 with a total of 127 stops, at that time the third largest organ in the world, today the third largest organ in Hungary

Honors

• Order of Gregorius in 1918, highest Catholic order
• a technical school in Pécs was named after him
• a street in Pécs was named after him

Publications

József Angster published a book about the history and functioning of the organ

• Az orgona története, lényege és szerkezete , Pécs 1886

His diary of the wandering years was later published

• Franz Metz: Josef Amgster. An organ builder's diary. Munich 2004. ( summary )

literature

• Angster József [jun.]: Angster: a pécsi orgonagyár és a család története. Pannónia Koenyvek, Budapest 1993. ISBN 963-7272-61-5 . About the history of the organ building company
• Angster József halála. In: Zenei Szemle. 2/5, 1918. pp. 158-159 (PDF). Obituary.

Web links

Commons : Angster Orgelfabrik  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Angster, József organ index, organs (German)
• József Angster organs and organ builder in Slovakia, biography (German)
• An Organ Builder's Diary Summary
• Catalog of works in chronological order Angster Múzeum (Hungarian)
• Catalog of works in Hungary alphabetically Angster Múzeum (Hungarian)
• Catalog of works outside Hungary Angster Múzeum (Hungarian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Budapest, St. Stephen's Basilica Organ index (German)
2. ↑ Szeged, Cathedral of Our Lady Organ index, with history and disposition (German)