Category Archives: Organist

Rudolf Lutz

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rudolf_lutzRudolf Lutz (born 1951) is lecturer in improvisation at the “Schola Cantorum Basiliensis”, the University of Early Music, Basle. At this specialist school for historical performance practice, he and three colleagues instruct around 30 students in the keyboard instrument department.

In St. Gallen, Rudolf Lutz is organist of the church “St. Laurenzen Kirche”, a post he has held since 1973. He is also conductor of the “St. Galler Kammerensemble”, which he has led since 1986. From 1986 to 2008, he conducted the “Bach-Chor St. Gallen”.

Videos:
Improvisation sur “Christ lag in Todesbanden”
Rudolf Lutz – Improvisation on Artwork by Hans Thomann
Frank Fuge – 27.11. 2008

Gereon Krahforst

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GereonKrahforstCropWebsite:
http://www.gereonkrahforst.org

Gereon Krahforst was born in 1973 in Bonn, Germany. He studied composition, church music, piano, and music theory at the university for music in Cologne, musicology at the University of Cologne and received his diploma and masters degree in organ in Frankfurt. He has studied privately with Markus Karas, John Birley (before the university studies), and then with Clemens Ganz, and Daniel Roth. During and after those studies, he participated in masterclasses with Marie-Claire Alain, Thierry Escaich, Peter Planyavsky, Jon Laukvik (ancient music), Guy Bovet, Wolfgang Seifen, Tomasz A. Nowak, Franz Lehrndorfer and many others. Other significant mentors are Petr Eben and professional friendships with Jean Guillou, Marie-Louise Langlais and Stephen Tharp.

At the age of 26, he was appointed director of music and organist at the Minster basilica in Moenchengladbach, Germany, and at age 27, he worked as director of music at the Cathedral of Minden, Germany. At the age of 29, he was appointed cathedral organist at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Paderborn and lecturer (Gregorian Chant) at the theological seminary of Paderborn. In 2004, he was appointed lecturer and instructor of organ at the University of Music in Hannover. In 2011, he moved to Spain where he was organist at the Incarnation Church of the world-famous town Marbella at the Costa del Sol in Andalucia, playing the nationally significant “Órgano del Sol Mayor”; since August 2012, he has been cathedral organist and associate director of music at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Videos:
Improvises a free piece in the style of Robert Schumann – Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
Gereon Krahforst – Improvisation on the Paderborn’s Libori Hymn tune – Klais Organ in the Cathedral of Cologne

Lorenzo Bonoldi

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Lorenzo BonoldiWebsite:
https://sites.google.com/site/bonoldilorenzo/

Lorenzo Bonoldi was born in 1977 in Bozzolo. (Lombardy region, Italy)
After studies at the Milan Conservatory, in 1998 he graduated in the class of Giancarlo Parodi in Organ and organ composition as well as Edoardo Filus and Hans Fazzari in piano. He has attended various masterclasses, studying with Daniel Roth, Lorenzo Ghielmi, Giancarlo Parodi and Klemens Schnorr and he also studied with interest organ improvisation and composition. (in the class of Giuseppe Colardo) After the courses of organ improvisation with Stefano Rattini and Fausto Caporali, he continued his studies of harmony and improvisation with Pierre Pincemaille in Paris.

Since 2008 he is officially the titular organist of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. He also serves as organist of the great organ “Bonato 2013” of S. Anastasia church in Villasanta (Monza) and organist at the Basilica of San Carlo al Corso, Milan.

YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/lorbo77

Videos:
Lorenzo Bonoldi – Intermezzo on Attende Domine – Basilica di San Carlo, Milano
Lorenzo Bonoldi – Toccata, Adagio e Finale on Attende Domine – Basilica di San Carlo, Milano
Lorenzo Bonoldi – 5 Versetti on Ave Maris Stella – Basilica di San Carlo, Milano
Lorenzo Bonoldi – Versetti on Victimae Paschali Laudes – Basilica di San Carlo, Milano

Nigel Allcoat

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NigelAllcoatWebsite:
http://www.nigelallcoat.org/
He has been a Visiting Tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music and for over 24 years has been teaching organists at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. He also has been a Professor in Dresden, the St Petersburg Conservatory and the Royal Academy of Music in London. He also has founded the International Summer Organ Conservatoire in 1986 which is now held each year in France. Furthermore, he is the Organ Adviser to the Diocese of Coventry.


He has released several recordings of improvisations:

Allcoat Improvisations: Hommage à la France

Improvisations 2
Variations & Improvisations – CRCD 6091-92
Amazon.com lists a couple of improvisation masterclass CDs but they only seem to be available as used.

Organ Improvisation Masterclass 1

Organ Improvisation Masterclass 2

Audio:
He has a stream on SoundCloud here.

YouTube channels:
All the videos presently posted by Simon19DK are of Nigel Allcoat at the organ or piano.
He also has his own YouTube channel here.

Videos:
Organ Demonstration in Classical Style – Augustenborg Castle Chapel, Denmark
Symphonie Improvisée on ‘Salve Regina’ – St Nicolas du Chardonnet, Paris

Jason Roberts

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JasonRobertsJason Roberts was recently appointed as Associate Director of Music and Organist as well as the Director of the Boy and Girl Choristers at St. Bart’s in New York City. For the past seven years Jason has served St. James’s Church in West Hartford, CT, where he built one of the largest choral programs in the Hartford area which including 35 children and over 30 adults. He holds degrees from Rice University, Yale University and the Manhattan School of Music. Dr. Robert’s teachers have included Clyde Holloway, Martin Jean, and McNeil Robinson. His teachers have included Clyde Holloway, Martin Jean, and McNeil Robinson. An avid improvisor, he won first prize at the AGO National Competition in Organ Improvisation in 2008 and was a finalist at the St. Alban’s International Organ Competition in 2011 (Improvisation).

Stephen Tharp

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Stephen_Tharpx_May_2007Official Website:
http://www.stephentharp.com/

Having played more than 1400 concerts across 43 tours worldwide, Stephen Tharp has built one of the most well-respected international careers in the world, earning him the reputation as the most traveled concert organist of his generation. He is an important champion of new organ music, and continues to commission and premiere numerous compositions for the instrument. The first such piece was Jean Guillou’s symphonic poem Instants, Op. 57, which Tharp premiered at King’s College, Cambridge, England in February 1998. Works dedicated to him include George Baker’s Variations on “Rouen” (2009) and David Briggs’ Toccata Labyrinth (2006).

Stephen Tharp earned his BA degree, magna cum laude, from Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL and his MM from Northwestern University, Chicago, where he studied with Rudolf Zuiderveld and Wolfgang Rübsam, respectively. He has also worked privately with Jean Guillou in Paris.

Video:
Improvisation – St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York

Frédéric Blanc

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frederic_blanc_mediumFrédéric Blanc was assistant organist at Saint-Sernin de Toulouse (1987-1995). A finalist of the International Improvisation Competition of Strasbourg in 1989, he has also been a prize winner of several other International Improvisations competitions, including Nuremberg (1996) and 2nd Prize in the Grand Prize of Chartres. In 1997, he was awarded the Grand Prize of the city of Paris, an international competition. Frédéric Blanc maintains an active career as a concert artist throughout Europe, as well as making several concert tours in the USA. He has recorded several CD for EMI, Aeolus, Motette devoted to improvisation and organ literature. Since 1999, Frédéric Blanc has served as organist at Notre Dame d’Auteuil, Paris.

Recordings:

Blanc: Live Improvisations


Blanc: Live improvisations


Organ Improvisations on Bach Toccata & Fugue in D Minor
This recording features many performers, including Lionel Rogg, Barbara Dennetlein, Frederic Blanc, Holm Vogel, Johannes Mayr, Vincent Thevenaz, and David Franke.

The OHS Catalog lists a DVD of Frederic Blanc offering improvisation instruction here.

Videos:
Free improvisation – Notre Dame d’Auteuil, Paris
Frédéric Blanc, François-Henri Houbart and Olivier Latry improvise

Richard Grayson

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Richard Grayson
Website:
http://faculty.oxy.edu/rgrayson/

Professor of Music, Emeritus, Occidental College
Music Faculty, Crossroads School
Richard Grayson (born 1941) is an American composer and pianist. He is best known as an improvisor of classical music, most often with live-electronics. By the 1980s, he was regarded as one of the best non-jazz improvisers (Shulgold 1985). He was also organist at St. Martin of Tours Church, West Los Angeles until his retirement on May 31, 2009, after having served in that position for 28 years.

He offers an improvisation handbook for free download on his website here.

YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/improvelectronic/videos
While not improvisations at the organ, the collection of videos present wonderful demonstrations of different composer’s styles and how themes from one era can be treated in the style of a completely different composer.
Examples include:
“Singin’ in the Rain” in the style of Wagner
“Singin’ in the Rain” in the style of a Chopin Waltz
Moonlight Sonata in the Style of Khachaturian
Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” in the style of Mozart
Can Can in the style of Stravinsky
And this is only a sample!!!

Otto Maria Krämer

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OttoKraemerWebsite:
http://www.orgelimprovisationen.de

Otto Maria Krämer studied at the Folkwang Hochschule, Essen and at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf. His teacher was Wolfgang Seifen. In 1995 he won the first prize of the Concours d’Improvisation a l’orgue Montbrison. He teaches now in the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne.


Recordings:

Otto Maria Kramer: Improvisations

Videos:
Suite Francaise – Plein jeu
Suite Francaise – Fugue
Suite Francaise – Récit
Suite Francaise – Basse de trompette
Suite Francaise – Quatuor
Suite Francaise – Duo
Suite Francaise – Tierce en taille
Suite Francaise – Dialogue sur les grands jeux
Symphonie Francaise – Allegro ma non troppo
Symphonie Francaise – Cantabile
Symphonie Francaise – Scherzando on “Macht hoch die Tür”
Symphonie Francaise – Prière
Symphonie Francaise – Final
Improvisation in Memoriam Marcel Dupré on “Ave maris stella”

Michele Johns

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Johns.MicheleMichele Johns is professor of music at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, & Dance, where she has taught church music skills and philosophy for over twenty years. She is the author of Hymn Improvisation (Augsburg 1987) which has received critical acclaim in professional journals and continues to enjoy popularity with organ students in universities, as well as those at other levels of experience.