Who is your favorite organist?

[Soubasse]

I'm with Corno on the equal firsts:
Olivier Latry and Daniel Roth

also:
Thomas Trotter
Madame Alain was still a formidable perfomer last time I heard her
David Briggs
Naji Hakim
and the late great Pierre Cochereau

 

[AllanP]

Jonas Nordwall - Portland, OR

 

[Krummhorn]

Excellent choice, Allan :up:

Jonas is very multi talented in both Theater and Classical literature and plays both with great ease.

 

[dll927]

75 changes of registration in three minutes? I'd call that playing the pistons instead of the keys.

There was once a recording by Virgil Fox of the Franck "Grande Piece Symphonique" Played on the (at the time) Lincoln Center organ, now part of the monster at the Crystal Cathedral. It claimed that Fox used every stop in the organ. But that piece lasts a while, so there would be considerably more opportunity.

 

[mathetes1963]

Hi all with out any question

Martin Mans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiOc5RZ_av0
Who can beat this ? in my personal opinion

He is also well known here in South Africa
Have a great day to all

Hmm, he is good...

Being both an organ enthusiast and also belonging to a Messianic congregation seem sometimes like mutually incompatible propositions, so I very much enjoyed this improv by Mr. Mans over "Jerusalem Of Gold" and Israeli folk themes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdR2-fb3348&feature=related

My favorite organist? Well...don't think I could pick just one! Some I really like, in no special order:

Michael Murray
Daniel Roth
Hector Olivera
Ben van Oosten
Piet Kee
Thomas Murray
Olivier Latry
Andre Lash (a former AGO chapter dean here...I once heard him play- quite thrillingly- the Finale from the Widor 2nd from memory )
Virgil Fox
Simon Preston
​

And judging by what little of them I've heard, I also like:

Sophie-Veronique Choplin
Peter Conte
Ian Tracey
Stephen Tharp
Klaas Jan Mulder
​

Probably be checking out some more of Mr. Mans stuff too... Again, my two shekels' worth!

I guess you are aware that Dorothy is no longer at St. John the Divine - she and toto now live in North Carolina land.

Really, whereabouts? I'm in N.C., I'd like to hear her play sometime.

 

[acc]

Alas, Klaas Jan Mulder is no longer with us. He died on November 1st, aged 78.

 

[mathetes1963]

Alas, Klaas Jan Mulder is no longer with us. He died on November 1st, aged 78.

Oh man. My internet pen pal in NL is going to be devastated....
http://www.nd.nl/artikelen/2008/november/01/klaas-jan-mulder-78-overleden

BTW, after listening a second time, I recognized the other theme in Martin Man's improv as "Hatikvah", the Israeli nat'l anthem...I totally spaced not catching that at first.

 

[smilingvox]

In fact, the last I heard, Tim Brumfield was leaving his post, there, as Music Director.

(For reference, go back 9 posts)

I heard the above from an unreliable source. Partly correct, because now Tim is Ass't Organist. Bruce Neswick is the Director.

 

[rovikered]

Amongst organists of the past : Helmut Walcha(whose performances on record I still listen to as the final arbiter of Bach organ interpretation).
Fernando Germani(the first organist I heard/saw on television over 50 years ago) whom I was privileged to hear 'in the flesh' once or twice when he gave recitals in my part of the world.

Amongst organists of the present day : Gerhard Weinberger(whose recordings of Bach on historic instruments are amongst my favourites).
Daniel Roth(with whom I had the great privilege of having a lesson in a class at an organists' course).
Naji Hakim
John Scott Whiteley(whom I have also had the opportunity to meet on two occasions). His performances of Bach on historic instruments ('21st Century Bach' television broadcasts) are equal to those of Gerhard Weinberger. His repertoire, however, is large and wide and his latest DVD/CD 'The Grand Organ of York Minster' is stupendous.

I do have other favourite organists, but these are the ones at the top of my list.

 

[Bombard]

Hmm, he is good...

Being both an organ enthusiast and also belonging to a Messianic congregation seem sometimes like mutually incompatible propositions, so I very much enjoyed this improv by Mr. Mans over "Jerusalem Of Gold" and Israeli folk themes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdR2-fb3348&feature=related



My favorite organist? Well...don't think I could pick just one! Some I really like, in no special order:

Michael Murray​

Daniel Roth​

Hector Olivera​

Ben van Oosten​

Piet Kee​

Thomas Murray​

Olivier Latry​

Andre Lash (a former AGO chapter dean here...I once heard him play- quite thrillingly- the Finale from the Widor 2nd from memory )​

Virgil Fox​

Simon Preston​

And judging by what little of them I've heard, I also like:

Sophie-Veronique Choplin​

Peter Conte​

Ian Tracey​

Stephen Tharp​

Klaas Jan Mulder​

Probably be checking out some more of Mr. Mans stuff too... Again, my two shekels' worth!


Really, whereabouts? I'm in N.C., I'd like to hear her play sometime.

I must add that I agree with you that simon preston is indeed a very good organist. My dad has the intire bach organ works by Simon Preston.

Also, on that note, Mickeal Murray has an exelent CD called Bach organ blasters. ( a personal favorite ) witch I think you would all like if you enjoy big bass and Bach.

 

[hugues huddlestone]

Rolande Falcinelli

 

[Dorsetmike]

Lionel Rogg,
Michael Austin,
Simon Preston,
Martin Schellenberg,

Among many others already mentioned in this thread.

 

[Marc]

Well, I only started to listen in a very serious way to organ music about a year ago.
And most of it I have listened to Bach.
Well, I have to admit: an awful lot of Bach, and also some stuff of his predecessors like Pachelbel, Buttstett, Böhm, Bruhns and Buxtehude. And some of his pupils: Johann Ludwig Krebs and Johann Peter Kellner.
And to some others, f.i. Sweelinck, De Grigny, Frescobaldi and Froberger.

I'm afraid I'm not that critical (yet?), being a newbie and so.
But in Bach, I made up my mind and I just have to go for very chauvinistic choices : Ewald Kooiman and Bram Beekman.

(This chauvinistic approach is also caused by the fact that there are a lot of Dutch organ discs [still] available around here, which aren't offered on a world-wide scale. So this means that one gets to know a lot of fellow countrymen- and women, compared to others. )

But there are really so many organists I adore in Bach (and other baroque music): again, some 'exquisite' Dutchies like Gustav Leonhardt, Leo van Doeselaar, Piet Wiersma and Wim van Beek.
On a global scale, I very much appreciated performances and recordings of: George Ritchie, Gillian Weir, Gerhard Weinberger, Wolfgang Zerer, Bine Katrine Bryndorf, Elizabeth Harrison, Bernard Foccroulle, Olivier Vernet, Hans Fagius, Harald Vogel, Marie-Claire Alain, Edward Power Biggs, Wolfgang Stockmeier et al and also et cetera :grin:.
And for getting to know the clarity and architecture of Bach's organ compositions I would certainly mention the legendary Helmut Walcha.

Well, in a year time things might have changed (though not my preference for Bach, I think ).

 

[Contratrombone64]

Marc - I have four complete organ works of Bach CD sets, Ritchie, Walcha, Vad and Fagius. Love them all dearly for different reasons.

 

[Luis Enrique]

Wolfang Seiffen..and the rest

 

[Soubasse]

Most of them are already here but FWIW:

1. Olivier Latry
=1. Daniel Roth
=1. Pierre Cochereau
2. Thomas Trotter
3. Gillian Weir
4. Almut Roessler
5. Helga Schaurte

 

[Thierry59]

1) Pierre Pincemaille
2) Naji Hakim
3)David Briggs
4) W.Seiffen
5)Baptiste-Florian Marle Ouvrard
Why this ranking: to me an organist should be able to interprete as well to improvise....

 

[Marc]

Marc - I have four complete organ works of Bach CD sets, Ritchie, Walcha, Vad and Fagius. Love them all dearly for different reasons.

I think your collection is very fine spread.

Walcha is essential, IMO, as I earlier mentioned. Both his mono and stereo box sets are still available, AFAIK, and for good reason!

Knud Vad is partly old-fashioned (much legato playing), but also 'modern' in his way of registration-choices and dynamics, especially in the free works. And, most of his performances were recorded 'live', which means that sometimes there's the odd mistake or audience coughing. No problem to me, really: it makes the performance more 'alive' and it also makes one's collection more varied, wouldn't you agree?

Ritchie and Fagius both have in common that they opt for a more 'authentic' approach: vivid phrasing and articulation, not much legato, not much differentation of registrations in one piece, and I like their straightforward almost no-nonsense way of playing. Especially Ritchie is able to maintain the tension (in a positive way) during the entire piece, also in the long ones.
Fagius plays on a selection of very interesting Swedish baroque organs, restored or newly/again built.
Ritchie is playing on a fine selection of American neo-baroque instruments, influenced by historic European examples.

This may sound a bit presumptuous, but might I give you just one advice?
Maybe you 'need' a 100% historic-instrument-integral to make your collection really 'complete'.
Unfortunately, both Ewald Kooiman and Bram Beekman (my faves) are OOP. But Gerhard Weinberger (CPO) and Bernard Foccroulle are available (the latter one being recently reissued on the Ricercar label), and I personally value their integrals very much.

 

[Soubasse]

Damn - thank you Thierry, how the hell could I forget Hakim and Briggs??! I'd have to slot them (both) in somewhere between Cochereau and Trotter on my initial list.

MPA

 

[AllanP]

1. Jonas Nordwall
2. Donna Parker