On 31 October 2004 the "new “ Ladegast organ in St. Nicolas Church in Leipzig was consecrated in the framework of a special service. The restoration of the biggest organ in Saxony was made possible by a donation by Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart to the amount of EUR 1.8 million. "With this contribution we want to enable Leipzig as the cultural centre which is so rich in traditions to expand its position as an important European centre for classical music&ldqou;, Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking, head of the management board of Porsche AG, explains the commitment of the car manufacturer from Stuttgart which has been represented in Leipzig with a factory of its own since 2002. At the same time, the company wishes to pay tribute to the cultural and historic importance of St. Nicolas Church. Between 1723 and 1750 this church was one of main places of work of Johan Sebastian Bach, a large part of whose organ pieces premiered here. In the autumn of 1989 St. Nicolas Church as the "church of the peaceful revolution&ldqou; set important political impulses for German reunification.

However, there is another reason why the car maker from Stuttgart supports the restoration of an organ: No other musical instrument embodies the Porsche values such as strength, dynamism and aesthetics in such an exemplary fashion as the classical pipe organ with its voluminous sound. Porsche did not restrict itself to the role of a sponsor during the restoration, however. Since the original console by the master organ builder Friedrich Ladegast did not exist any more, Porsche designers created new surfaces made of ebony and brushed stainless steel for manuals and registers and also designed the pedals and the bench for the cantor. „The console has been designed as a contrast to the environment of the church in a conscious manner, however, it remains in the classical context and establishes a reference to car manufacturing“ Franz Joseph Siegert, head of Interior Design, explains the intention pursued by the designers.

In 1862 Ladegast finished an instrument in St. Nicolas Church which helped to shape the romantic interpretation of Bach’s organ compositions during the second half of the 19th century. Today, this instrument, which is 21 metres wide and 13 metres high, is considered one of the biggest church organs from the romantic era in Germany which is still preserved. The comprehensive restoration had become necessary since its original and extraordinary sound had been severely affected by several renovations and by wear-and-tear effects caused by its age. In the year 2001 the organ building company Hermann Eule in Bautzen was commissioned to completely restore the organ in order to re-establish its original expressiveness. Since that time 45,000 working hours were necessary in order to restore one of the most famous instruments in German music culture. For example 3,000 of the approx. 6,300 pipes have been added as new pipes, the number of the registers was increased from 84 to 104 and four manuals have now been converted to five playing levels. In the future Jürgen Wolf, cantor of St. Nicolas Church, will be the only organist in the world to start his organ on the left side of the manuals as has always been the tradition for Porsche vehicles. With the restored organ he now has an instrument at his disposal with which he can revive the preservation of Bach’s heritage in the tradition of the 19th century. Moreover, the instrument enables the proper presentation of organ compositions by the Leipzig school (Mendelssohn, Liszt, Brahms, as well as Max Reger). „The extraordinary sound of the Ladegast organ permits interpretations which will cause a sensation in the world of music“, Cantor Wolf is convinced. „For this reason, a vision which we have pursued for a long time will finally come true with the consecration on Sunday.“