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Concert Organist to Perform With Denver Phil

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Contributed by: Robin McNeil on 11/5/2007

Continuing the performances for its 60th Anniversary Season, the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra, will perform this coming Friday, November 9, at 7:30 PM, at the St. John's Cathedral at 14th and Washington in Denver. This performance, led by Dr. Horst Buchholz, will feature the renowned German organist, Roland Stangier, in his United States debut. Stangier will perform the Organ Symphony Nr. 1 by the French composer, Alexandre Guilmant

Stangier has performed worldwide and is now Professor of Organ at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Germany. In addition he is the custodian of the new Kuhn organ which is the instrument of the new Essen Philharmonic. Stangier was the founder of the Maurice Durufle International Improvisation Competition which was established in Hamburg in 1996. He has released many recordings.

Alexandre Guilmant was one of the foremost performers and organ composers of his day. He taught at the Schola Cantorum, of which he was a founder, and at the Paris Conservatory, where Marcel Dupre, Joseph Bonnet, Rene Vierne, and Nadia Boulanger were among his pupils. Aside from composing much organ and sacred vocal music, he made numerous editions of 16th-to 18th-century organ works. He made three tours to the United States, the first in 1893 when he performed at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He returned in 1898 and again in 1904 when he performed 40 recitals with no works repeated at the St. Louis Exposition. Guilmant was one of the very first organists to expose the general public to an extremely wide range of repertoire played with the highest standards of musicianship. He composed a large number of works, among them eight large-scale sonatas for solo organ. Guilmant later arranged the First Sonata as his Symphony No. 1 for Organ and Orchestra. It is organized in three movements: an Introduction and Allegro, a quietly-moving Pastoral, and a spirited Finale in the style of the virtuosic French organ toccatas of the day.

In December 1829, Mendelssohn began work on the Reformation Symphony. Mendelssohn had been raised as a Lutheran to escape the anti-Semitism that was so prevalent and hoped to have the work performed at the Augsburg anniversary of Martin Luther's Confession. The date of 1829 is important, because that makes it quite clear that this was Mendelssohn's first symphony and not his fifth. The confusion stems from the fact that it took longer for Mendelssohn to complete the work because he became ill, and combined with the duties of touring and composing other works he put off finishing this symphony in time for the celebration in Augsburg. It is not clear when Mendelssohn gave up, but he eventually completed the work in 1830 - at the age of twenty-one - only to face rejection from several publishers who, incredibly, thought that it contained too much counterpoint. Mendelssohn was able to have it performed in 1832 in Berlin after he revised it, but at some point he set it aside having lost interest in it. It was finally published in 1868 after his death. This symphony is a good work, and the listener will recognize the Dresden amen, and in the last movement the hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.

This will be a very exciting concert because of the debut of such a prominent organist in our country, and the performance of the Guilmant Symphony. In addition, though there are many recordings of the Mendelssohn Symphony, it is not done all that often in concert, so it is quite possible for many in the audience to hear these two works for the first time live. Please go to the DPO web site at www.denverphioharmonic.org for further information and ticket prices.

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Robin McNeil

Littleton , CO

Robin McNeil has posted 723 stories and 0 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. Robin McNeil 's average story rating is 5.

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