The Tuschinski organ

In 1921, the Amsterdam Tuschinski Theater was the first cinema in the Netherlands with a theater organ. Abraham Tuschinski had heard about the great success of the Wurlitzer organs in American theaters and wanted to have such an organ in his hall at the opening. However, the Wurlitzer factory could not possibly deliver on time. But Tuschinski had heard that a Wurlitzer organ had recently been installed in Brussels. Abraham Tuschinski went to Brussels and managed to persuade the cinema owner there with a lot of persuasion (and a large sum of money) to transfer the organ that had just been delivered to him.
On his way back to Amsterdam, Tuschinski took a few vital parts with him – maybe they started to doubt in Brussels...

For the opening, organists Stevenson from New York and Beers from Belgium were engaged. Beers then became the first permanent organist in Tuschinski until 1922 and was succeeded by a then still unknown talented young Dutch organist - Pierre Palla. Together with the orchestra conducted by Max Tak they were responsible for musical intermezzos and accompaniment of - the then silent - films. Yes, in the Tuschinski Theater the audience really had an evening out - with film, Polygoon newsreel, music and variety.

In 1923 the organ with 4 voices was replaced by a larger Wurlitzer organ with 6 voices, this time coming directly from the Wurlitzer factory in North Tonawanda - USA. Again this organ had a piano console, i.e. a console in the form of a large piano with an extra keyboard, foot pedal and registers. With 6 voices it was still modest for such a large hall but the organ was still able to fill the hall reasonably well with beautiful sounds. The secret was the excellent acoustics from the stage. The organ chambers with all the organ pipes are located under the stage, in the orchestra pit. Under the wooden floor of the orchestra pit there is a concave concrete floor that reflects the sound upwards, making the organ seem to radiate from the stage. Later the orchestra pit was closed but the top can be opened by means of grilles.

In 1940 the organ was expanded to 10 voices by the Strunk company. Cor Steyn played an important advisory role in this. The piano console was replaced by the current 4-manual console, designed by Joop Geesink. The console - connected to the organ by a large cable - has had various places in the orchestra pit, on the right, on the left and from the 1960s in the middle. A grand piano was also connected for some time, but it was later removed.

After the war, the organ was maintained by the Fonteyn en Gaal company, some of whose employees later moved to the Kaat en Tijhuis company. Jan Mekkes was the permanent pianist and organist in Tuschinski from 1946 - for about thirty years. Later, he also led the now drastically thinned-out orchestra, but at a certain point it was completely disbanded and only the organ remained. Organist Rene de Rooij came over from the City Theater and together they played the theater organ and the additional Hammond from Cinema Royal during the walk-in and intermission until about 1977.

For several years, the NOF members were able to attend small concerts by Jan Mekkes and occasionally another organist. Later, the Dutch Organ Federation was able to make agreements with the management of Tuschinski to make it a bit more official and it no longer had to be done through the back door. Organists from home and abroad were invited to give concerts. From that time on, the NOF maintained the organ with a group of volunteers.

When the main hall was thoroughly overhauled around 2000, it was also high time for a major overhaul of the organ. The organ was removed in its entirety and important parts were overhauled by various technical teams from the NOF and other volunteers in Voorburg, Steenwijk and Schiedam. Bellows were provided with new leather. The console went in its entirety to Ouderkerk a/d Amstel where it was magnificently restored by the father of one of the employees and provided with 164 new register labels. The Amsterdam team also overhauled many parts, varnished and lugged around mostly very heavy parts. And had the task of rebuilding everything. Large parts of the old wiring were replaced with new wiring, an enormously labor-intensive and very precise job that took many years. The re-laying of the keyboards was outsourced to the professionals of the firm Kaat and Tijhuis in Kampen who were also responsible for repairing and re-adjusting the organ pipes.

A job that started very early in the morning for a few weeks and made the gentlemen from Kampen get up at impossible times.

In the meantime, familiar sounds can be heard from under the stage and the console is now on a lift and looks more beautiful than ever before. There may also have been a vibraphone connected to the organ, but no trace of this could be found except for some register claps on the relay and the console. The NOF was able to purchase a beautiful organ vibraphone in England and this is now also connected to the organ. You will also soon be able to hear a piano again. The organ is now complete as it was once intended. The organ sings again...