History

Frobenius Orgelbyggeri (Th. Frobenius & Sons / Th. Frobenius & Sønner Orgelbyggeri A/S) was founded in Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

 by Theodor Frobenius (1885–1972) in 1909. The firm moved to Lyngby in 1925. Theodor's sons Walther and Erik joined the company in 1944, at the same time that they began to build organs in the classical tradition, with mechanical action

Tracker action

Tracker action is a term used in reference to pipe organs and steam calliopes to indicate a mechanical linkage between keys or pedals pressed by the organist and the valve that allows air to flow into pipe of the corresponding note...

s and slider windchests. They build organs with characteristic modern casework, usually arranging the pipework of each manual such that three to six repeating arrangements of front pipes are shown in the façade. Their organ development after 1925 was in the best tradition of neo-classical

Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...

 design.

Notable Frobenius organs

• Aarhus Cathedral, Denmark (1928-2001)
• The Queen's College, Oxford
  The Queen's College, Oxford
  The Queen's College, founded 1341, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Queen's is centrally situated on the High Street, and is renowned for its 18th-century architecture...
  
   (1965)
• Church of the Assumption, Tullamore, Ireland (1965; relocated from Vor Frue Kirke, Copenhagen in 1994)
• First Congregational Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  Cambridge, Massachusetts
  Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
  
   (1972)
• Thisted
  Thisted
  Thisted is a town in Thisted municipality of Region Nordjylland, in Denmark. It has a population of 13,005 and is located in Thy, in northwestern Jutland....
  
   Kirke (1972)
• Ribe Domkirke
  Ribe Cathedral
  Our Lady Maria Cathedral is located in the ancient city of Ribe on the western coast of southern Jutland, Denmark- History :Ribe is Denmark's oldest surviving city. Ribe began as an open trading market on the north bank of the Ribe River where it runs into the ocean...
  
   (1973/1994)
• St Mortens Kirke, Naestved
  Naestved
  Næstved a commercial town in a municipality of the same name, lies on the island of Zealand in Denmark. The town is one hour's travel from Copenhagen. Næstved has a population of 41,667 . Næstved's UN/LOCODE is DKNVD....
  
   (1975)
• Vangede Kirke, Gentofte
  Gentofte
  Gentofte Kommune is a municipality in the Capital Region of Denmark on the east coast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a total population of 68,913...
  
   (1979)
• Robinson College, Cambridge
  Robinson College, Cambridge
  Robinson College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.Robinson is the newest of the Cambridge colleges, and is unique in being the only one to have been intended, from its inception, for both undergraduate and graduate students of either sex.- History :The college was founded...
  
   (1979)
• Takayama Mahikari Grand Shrine, Japan
  Japan
  Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
  
   (1984)
• Opstandelseskirken, Albertslund
  Albertslund
  Albertslund Kommune is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 23 km², and has a total population of 27,602 . Its mayor is Steen Christiansen, a member of the Social Democrats political party...
  
   (1992)
• Marienfelde Kirche, Berlin
  Berlin
  Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
  
   (1994)
• Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh, Scotland
  Kirk of the Canongate
  The Kirk of the Canongate, or Canongate Kirk, serves the Parish of Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town, in Scotland. It is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The parish includes the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament. It is also the parish church of Edinburgh Castle, even...
  
   (1998) (The 1000th organ built by Frobenius)
• Jørlunde Kirke
  Jørlunde Church
  Jørlunde Church is a late Viking age / early medieval church situated in Jørlunde, Denmark. The church was built by Skjalm Hvide around the year 1085 ....
  
  , Denmark (2009)

Sources

• Guy Oldham/Ole Olesen: 'Frobenius', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 2007-06-25), http://www.grovemusic.com/
• N. Friis: Th. Frobenius & Co 1909–1959 (Kongens Lyngby, 1959)
• P.J. Basch: Frobenius to the Americas, in Music: the AGO and RCCO Magazine VI (1972)