Georg Jann (17 January 1934 – 12 February 2019) was a German
organ builder.
Early life
Jann was born in
Kalkberge. In 1948, he began his apprenticeship in
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
with organ builder
Alexander Schuke. He moved to
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
in 1961, three years later to
West Berlin
West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...
, to work as voicer for Alexander Schuke. Between 1968 and 1972, he worked as voicer for
Rieger Orgelbau in
Schwarzach, Vorarlberg (
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
). In 1974, he took over the workshop of organ builder Eduard Hirnschrodt in Regensburg, and a year later, built his first organ for the Catholic Church in Etzelwang. In 1977, the company was relocated to
Laberweinting.
1993–1994, Georg Jann built his largest organ at
Munich Cathedral, consisting of a choir organ (1993, 36 stops) and the great organ (1994, 95 stops), with a total of 131 stops.
Until 1995, Georg Jann ran his company under the name "Georg Jann Orgelbau Meisterbetrieb". He then handed the company to his son Thomas Jann, while Georg relocated to
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and established a new organ pipe workshop, "Orguian", along with two former employees. At the end of 2005, he handed this company to Detlef Jann, his oldest son.
[Thomas Jann Orgelbau GmbH und Matthias Zimmer (ed.). Festschrift ''50 Jahre Jann Orgelbau''. Laberweinting, Allkofen: Self-Publishing, 2024.]
Selected works
References
Bibliography
* Thomas Jann Orgelbau GmbH und Matthias Zimmer (ed.). Festschrift ''50 Jahre Jann Orgelbau''. Laberweinting, Allkofen: Self-Publishing, 2024.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jann, Georg
German pipe organ builders
1934 births
2019 deaths
Musical instrument manufacturing companies of Germany