Flentrop

[headcase]

This came across my screen earlier today, via orgue-l.

 

I was very saddened to be telephoned by Flentrop this afternoon with the

news that the excellent and amiable Cees van Oostenbrugge, their managing

director, has suddenly died.

--

Ian Bell

London

[bazuin]

"I was very saddened to be telephoned by Flentrop this afternoon with the

news that the excellent and amiable Cees van Oostenbrugge, their managing

director, has suddenly died."

 

Cees van Oostenbrugge died this morning, entirely unexpectedly. He was to have retired on the 10th of June next year. I saw him for the last time 3 weeks ago at the Bavo in Haarlem - he was on excellent form, telling the story of how he had had to down tools one afternoon when Flentrop where doing re-voicing work there (in 2000 I think) as the extreme cold had caused ice to start forming on the languids. He was without doubt one of the kindest figures I have ever come across in the organ world, always delighted to welcome interested visitors to the workshops (always something interesting to see, usually hundreds of years old) outside office hours, patiently explaining, answering questions, telling stories, making jokes. His sense of humour was hilarious, his eye had a permanent twinkle.

 

Cees had worked for Flentrop since 1969 and had been the managing director since 1998. Under his stewardship the firm's largest new instrument was the 51 stop organ for the concert hall in Enschede, other notable projects included the restorations of the 1743 Garrels organ (3/39) in Purmerend, and the 1875 Cavaillé-Coll organ in the Concert Hall in Haarlem (3/47). At the time of his death, Flentrop are engaged in the reconstruction of the famous 'Reincken' organ of the St Catherina in Hamburg, and building a new organ at Christ Church, Chelsea, London for which Ian Bell is advising I believe.

 

He will be very greatly missed, both for his extraordinary knowledge and experience and, especially, because of his enormous kindness.

 

Greetings

 

Bazuin

[Pierre Lauwers]

A sad news, hitting an house whose incredibly vast gathered knowledge

is universally recognized.

 

Pierre

[kropf]

"I was very saddened to be telephoned by Flentrop this afternoon with the

news that the excellent and amiable Cees van Oostenbrugge, their managing

director, has suddenly died."

 

Cees had worked for Flentrop since 1969 and had been the managing director since 1998. Under his stewardship the firm's largest new instrument was the 51 stop organ for the concert hall in Enschede, other notable projects included the restorations of the 1743 Garrels organ (3/39) in Purmerend, and the 1875 Cavaillé-Coll organ in the Concert Hall in Haarlem (3/47). At the time of his death, Flentrop are engaged in the reconstruction of the famous 'Reincken' organ of the St Catherina in Hamburg, and building a new organ at Christ Church, Chelsea, London for which Ian Bell is advising I believe.

 

He will be very greatly missed, both for his extraordinary knowledge and experience and, especially, because of his enormous kindness.

 

Greetings

 

Bazuin

 

On Oct 26th, he participated in a little conference in Hamburg-Neuenfelde, held by the German Arp Schnitger Society, focussing on organ restoration in general and on the Neuenfelde instrument in particular (Many forum readers have contributed between 2000 and 2003 to help to save it). I could attend the meeting, but I got the minutes of that conference. His contributions were substancial. It is indeed always sad to loose people with so much experience.