Andreas Silbermann (16 May 1678 – 16 March 1734) was a German organ builder, who was involved in the construction of 35 organs, mostly in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. Andreas also established the Silbermann family tradition of organ building, training his brother

Gottfried Gottfried is a masculine German given name. It is derived from the Old High German name , recorded since the 7th century, and composed of the elements (conflated from the etyma for "God" and "good", and possibly further conflated with ) and ("pe ...

and his son Johann Andreas in the profession.

Biography

Silbermann was born on 16 May 1678 in Kleinbobritzsch, near

Frauenstein, Saxony Frauenstein () is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Ore Mountains, southeast of Freiberg, and southwest of Dresden. Frauenstein Castle is located northeast of the town centre. Notable ...

, the son of a joiner. He himself trained as a joiner in

Freiberg Freiberg () is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany, with around 41,000 inhabitants. The city lies in the foreland of the Ore Mountains, in the Saxon urbanization axis, which runs along the northern edge of the Elster and ...

under George Lampertius, but soon afterwards learnt the art of organ building, moving to

in 1699. The exact timing and source of his training is unknown, with proposed names of his mentor including Friederich Ring and Daniel Übermann. During his early work in Alsace, Silbermann carried out renovation work on the organ constructed by Johann-Jacob Baldner in the church of St Léger in Bouxwiller. After this, he moved to work with

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

organ builder Friderich Ring, settling permanently in the city in 1701 and receiving citizenship on 15 March 1702. By this time, Andreas had trained his brother

, and they built an organ together. Between 1704 and 1706, Silbermann moved to Paris, where he worked with François Thierry, having a particular concern to develop his understanding in the French style. He then returned to Strasbourg, where he worked with his brother on a few more projects, namely the Collegium Wilhelmitanum (1706) and the church of St Nicolas (1707). In 1708, Andreas began working alone as his brother Gottfried had returned to Saxony. In the following years, Silbermann was involved in several major commissions, including constructing an organ at

Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', ), also known as Strasbourg Minster (church), Minster (), is a Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Although considerable parts of ...

(1714–1716), which was the largest organ he built during his career. In 1712, his son Johann Andreas was born. Trained under his father, Johann collaborated with Andreas during the final years of his life and continued the family business after his death. Silbermann died on 16 March 1734 in

Style

Silbermann's organs were built mostly in a French style.

Organs built by Silbermann

*1706 – Collegium Wilhelmitanum *1707 –

Saint Nicholas Church, Strasbourg Saint Nicholas Church, Strasbourg (; ) is a small Gothic church in Strasbourg, France. Jean Calvin led services and preached at this church in 1538. Albert Schweitzer was the pastor of the church from 1900 to 1913 and used to play the organ there ...

*1709–10 – Marmoutier Abbey church, Alsace *1711 – Basle Cathedral *1714–16 –

*1718 –

Saint Aurelia's Church, Strasbourg The Church of Saint Aurelia (église Sainte-Aurélie), situated in the west of Strasbourg near the railway station, is one of the Strasbourg churches with the longest history. A Lutheran church since the Reformation, the church is of particular his ...

*1721 – Église Saints Simon et Jude,

Ottrott Ottrott () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It lies southwest of Strasbourg. The vineyards in and around Ottrott produce the red Rouge d'Ottrott, a geographical denomination within the registered de ...

*1726 – Dominican Church,

Colmar Colmar (; ; or ) is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Alsace region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department ...

*1729–30 – St Cyriaque,

Altorf Altorf (; ; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in the Grand Est region of northeastern France. The commune has been awarded one flower by the ''National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom'' in the ''Competition of cities and village ...

*1732 – Church of Saint Maurice,

Ebersmunster Ebersmunster (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It is famous for its 1727 baroque church, a work by Vorarlberg architect Peter Thumb. Population See also *Communes of the Bas-Rhin department ...

, Alsace *1732 – Église Saint-Matthieu, Colmar *1733 –

Rosheim Rosheim (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It lies southwest of Strasbourg, on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. It is a winemaking town on the tourist "Road of the Wines of Alsace" a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silbermann, Andreas German pipe organ builders German musical instrument makers People from Frauenstein, Saxony 1678 births 1734 deaths Businesspeople from Saxony