26/12/2025
Organs!
During the silent era, thousands of movie-theatre organs raised their quirky, quavery voices. Now, a few hundred instruments remain in theatres, and they are experiencing a modest renaissance. Resident organists accompany silent-film screenings at, among other venues, the Stanford Theatre, in Palo Alto; the Ohio Theatre, in Columbus; the Circle Cinema, in Tulsa; and the Fox Theatre, in Atlanta. “Audiences tend to come away from theatre-organ screenings in a jubilant mood, and I think I know the reason,” Alex Ross writes. “Here, passive consumption becomes active and creative: the performer reacts with individual spontaneity while summoning sounds of orchestral heft. The technological mastery of cinematic spectacle is humanized by the immediacy of live performance.” Read more: https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/XM4vvX
