Hans Eckart Schlandt

Hans Eckart Schlandt has been Cantor and Organist at the “Black Church” in Braşov (Kronstadt), Romania, since 1965. His early organ instruction was with Viktor Bickerich, who served as organist at the Black
Church from 1922 to 1962. Later studies were with Helmuth Plattner at the Musikhochschule in Bucharest.

Since 1965 Hans Eckart Schlandt took over the "Bach" choir of the Black Church. During the period of Communism, adverse to the religious music, he managed to provide continuity and quality with the amazing great oratorios and passions of Bach, Mozart, Brahms, etc., to protect the Black Church by the totalitarian regime of the time, turning it into a musical haven of inner freedom. In addition to his duties as organist and choir director, Hans Eckart Schlandt directs the summer concert series at the Black Church. He is also on the faculty of the Musikhochschule in Braşov, where he teaches organ and chamber music.



For several decades, Hans Eckart Schlandt has pursued an active career as a performer and teacher, including concerts, radio and television broadcasts, CD recordings, and master classes. He has presented numerous recitals throughout Eastern and Western Europe, and an American tour.

Ilse Maria Reich

Born in 1944 in Sibiu, Ilse Maria Reich studied the pipe organ in Prague with Jiri Rheinberger, in Essen with Gisbert Schneider, and at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover with Ulrich Bremsteller. Stated as a most valuable organist in Romania, with participation in international festivals, she was known worldwide due to its genuine vocation - after emigrating in 1988 in Germany.

In 1990, she founded a music school in Rottenburg - which now has 500 students - which she led for 18 years. As conductor of the choir and orchestra ensembles toured with the school in South Africa, Italy, Romania, Czech Republic and China. Over several years, Ilse Maria Reich has prepared and made possible the collaboration between the school choir "Chorgemeinschaft der Musikschule Städtischen" and the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra in several vocal-symphonic concerts.

Black Church Organ

The Braşov Black Church’s organ, with 4000 pipes and considered one of the biggest in Europe, was built between 1836 and 1839 by the Berlin organ maker Buchholz, is the largest of more than 140 organs built by craftsmen Buchholz family, and it is famous for its sonority. The organ has four manuals with 56 keys, one pedal with 27 keys, and has 63 audio registers. It was inaugurated on 17 April 1839, the organist being Buchholz itself, who played improvisations and cantatas by composers Johann Friedrich Schneider and Lucas Hedwig.

Image fom here

In 1924 the gallery in front of the organ was enlarged in order to organize sacred music concerts with chorus’ participation. The organ was restored between 1997-2001. Then all the 3993 tubes (the largest having a height of about 13 meters) were dismantled and restored. The organ is a baroque organ and survived till now almost unchanged. The second organ was built by Carl Hesse and has a manual and pedal and eight registers. It was restored in 1997.



Since 1953, organ recitals are held, tradition started by the organist Victor Bickerich and continued by Hans Eckart Schlandt. Many vinyl discs, audio tapes and CDs were recorded here during years. Nowadays an organ concert is organized every week.