04/02/2000

A21 IN MEMORIAM EMIL OLBRICH

Emil Olbrich *January 17th, 1930 - † December 1st, 2019

If there is a knowledge that can be considered the life experience of the concert tuner and piano builder Emil Olbrich, it is this simple mathematical fact:

"Harmony is unattainable with strategic thinking and acting. The degree of its achievement marks the progress of civilization."

Emil Olbrich experienced the horrors of war in his childhood. Therefore, there was no question of whether anything other than harmony could ever be a priority in his life, and this concern came in connection with pronounced talent and with a persistence to achieve technical and acoustic perfection.

I owe my instructor the suggestion to consider the regularities of the equally tempered tuning and the long way to get there in the context of cultural history. 30 years ago, one could only guess which perspectives would open up. It is regrettable today how much knowledge is lost due to too narrow specialization. There is also a lack of impartiality, particularly with regard to the theological perspectives of earlier epochs, the implementation of which lies in the area of tension between the creed (devotion) and abuse of power (exploitation). In contrast, the ethical content of occidental harmony has a cross-cultural quality that unites people: no bliss without wisdom and no wisdom without love of the enemy.