General Curia Rome
Solemn ceremony to donate the sacred music of the composer Otto Strobl
Tuesday, 19 April 2016: at an solemn official ceremony at the General Curia, the Secretary General Brother André Sène was given the original scores of sacred music composed by the Austrian contemporary composer, Otto Strobl. For the occasion, Professor Rudolf Schrumpf came from Austria with his wife, and the event was covered by an Austrian television crew. Also present were the General Councillor, Brother Rudolf Knopp and the General Curia archivist, Chiara Donati.
The Brothers of Saint John of God Hospital in Eisenstadt, in Austria, have a long-standing relationship with music dating back to one of the world’s most important composers, Joseph Haydn. One need only recall that this famous composer often played the baroque organ himself in the Brothers of St John of God Church in Eisenstadt, and there he composed the "Missa brevis Sti. Joannis de Deo" precisely for that organ.
The contemporary composer, Otto Strobl, who conducted the famous Eisenstadt Hyden Choir for many years, has continued to work dynamically in this tradition. Born in 1927 at Wiesen, near Eisenstadt, he studied musical education, composition, and organ music at the Vienna Academy of Music, devoting his personal interest to composing choral singing and popular songs (including dialect songs). His five works for children are very well known and widely loved. For those who have never heard the name of Otto Strobl, we would like to recall that he is the composer of a tune with which we are probably all familiar: the opening theme music of all the international events organised by the International Ski Federation, known as the “FIS Fanfare“, which was written by him.
Otto Strobl, in his long related life, has also composed a series of works dedicated specifically to the Brothers of St John of God, one of the most outstanding being his “St Matthew Passion”.
Prof. Rudolf Schrumpf, who brought Otto Strobl’s original scores to Rome to deliver them into the hands of the Secretary General for the General Curia Archive has been involved with the Order over a long period of musical collaboration: following a long career as the conductor of the military orchestra, Prof. Schrumpf is also an affiliated member of the Order, and for many years he has conducted the choir in the Brothers of Saint John of God Church in Eisenstadt.