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The story of the masterpiece
Visitors to the St Petersburg workshop of the celebrated mechanic Johann
Georg Strasser at the turn of the nineteenth century were delighted by
the sight of the great clock that he styled his "Mechanical Orchestra".
The large free-standing clock was produced in Strasser's workshop between
1793 and 1801. Others closely involved in the work were Strasser's son
Thomas (or Foma), the furniture-maker Heinrich Gambs and the organ-builder
Johann Gabran. The Mechanical Orchestra takes the form of an architectural
edifice about four metres in height with a portico and paired mahogany
columns embellished with gilded bronze. The organ is driven by four weights,
each weighing about 60 kilogrammes. The music is recorded on removable
wooden barrels, 127 centimetres in length, each of which plays for eight
minutes. Originally thirteen barrels were produced. The first was the
overture from Mozart's Magic Flute; then came more works by Mozart,
Haydn and also Anton Eberl, a Viennese pianist and popular composer in
his day who was then living in St Petersburg and wrote a piece especially
to Strasser's commission. In 1861 a fourteenth barrel was created to play
the then-fashionable march from Tannhäuser by Richard Wagner.
According to some sources, the Mechanical Orchestra was intended for the
Mikhailovsky Castle, the residence of Paul I which already contained two
of Strasser's clocks. With Paul's death in the spring of 1801, however,
it became unwanted. The master craftsman who had invested all his wealth
in the work was left with no option but to dispose of it by lottery. For
over two years he was unable to sell a sufficient quantity of tickets.
In order to drum up public interest he was obliged to organize a large
number of concerts. Finally, on 4 May 1804, the draw was held, but for
a long time afterwards no-one came forward with the winning ticket.
It eventually emerged that a certain young officer going to join his unit
had made a stop in Libau (now in Latvia) in the house of "a kind
old woman" - a poor widow. She had not accepted any payment from
him, but took "as a reminder of him" the lottery ticket that
the officer had bought in the capital for five roubles. After some time
the widow discovered that the ticket that had "long lain neglected
behind the mirror in her home, had been pulled out and half-shredded by
the children," had won back in St Petersburg a clock worth 60,000
roubles. In early 1805 Alexander I bought the clock from her, however,
for 20,000 roubles plus a lifetime pension. The clock was installed in
one of the halls of the Imperial Hermitage and never left the imperial
residence again.
Throughout the nineteenth century the Mechanical Orchestra continued to
delight those who heard it. "Inimitable harmony and pleasantness
of tone is the distinguishing virtue of this mechanical concert,"
wrote the prominent literary figure Pavel Svinyin. "Especially in
the adagios it seems as if the world's foremost virtuosi are playing together;
the harmony seems to descend from the heavens."
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The large clock in the Alexander Hall of the Winter Palace
Larger view
"Mechanical Orchestra"
Johann Georg Strasser
Larger view
View of the Mikhailovsky Castle
Giacomo Quarenghi
Larger view
Portrait of Emperor Paul I
Jean Henri Benner
Larger view
The title page of the brochure published in 1801 for the lottery
Portrait of Emperor Alexander I
George Dawe
Larger view
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