Category Archives: Organist

Franz Lehrndorfer

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Franz Lehrndorfer (10 August 1928 – 10 January 2013) was a German organist and composer. A specialist in organ improvisation, he was for decades both the organist of the Munich cathedral Frauenkirche and the head of the department of Catholic Church Music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München.
You can hear him on Spotify.

Recordings:

Die Heitere Orgel: Improvisationen Uber Kinderlieder [The Merry Organ: Improvisations On Children’s Songs]


Theme & Variations, Vol. 1: Improvisations on Children’s Songs


Theme & Variations, Vol. 2: Franz Lehrndorfer Improvises on the New Organ in the Dome at Munich

He also includes improvisations on recordings of repertoire:

Celestial Christmas 5: Franz Lehrndorfer Plays Seasonal Music on the New Organ in the Dome at Munich
Includes a free improvisation on In dulci jubilo.


The Concert
Includes a free improvisation on Sagt an, wer ist doch diese.

Loïc Mallié

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mallieWinner of the Grand Prix d’Improvisation à Chartres in 1982, Loïc Mallié teaches musical writing and improvisation at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon. In February 2011, he was appointed organist of the main organ of La Trinité in Paris.
You can hear him on Spotify.


Recordings:

Mallié: Retour de Bayreuth (11 improvisations sur des thèmes wagnériens)

Jeux: Improvisations by Mallié on Themes of Debussy


Mallié: Affettuoso


Mallié – Lefèbvre : Improvisations à l’ogue


Hommage à Pierre Cochereau
Improvisations by George Baker, David Briggs, Thierry Escaich and Loïc Mallié.

Videos:
Loïc Mallié Improvisation sur deux thèmes grégoriens

Loïc Mallié – Entrée improvisée – La Trinité, Paris

László Fassang

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Fassang_368x800Official website:
fassang.hu

YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEfvVAaafNKJGav583-Pxnw
You can hear him on Spotify.



A native of Budapest, László Fassang was born into a musical family and began to study the organ at age thirteen under the tutelage of István Baróti. He graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in 1998, having studied piano under Ilona Prunyi and organ with Ferenc Gergely and István Ruppert. Fassang then entered the Paris Conservatory, where he studied organ with Olivier Latry and Michel Bouvard, as well as improvisation under Loïc Mallié, Philippe Lefebvre, Thierry Escaich, and Jean-François Zygel. In 2002 he won the Improvisation Gold Medal at the Royal Bank Calgary International Organ Festival and Competition. He is represented in the US by Karen McFarlane.

Recordings:

László Fassang au grand orgue de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres
Includes repertoire by Alain, Bach, Liszt, Vierne and an improvisation.

The Art of Organ Improvisation – The Four Seasons (Vol. 5) was recorded at the Palace of Arts in 2008 and released by the German company Organ Promotion.


Course Of The Moon: Live Improvisations
László Fassang, piano, and Lé Quang, saxophone

Video:
László Fassang – Improvisation on ‘Dies Irae’ – Biserica Reformată de pe Ulița Lupilor
Olivier Latry, László Fassang and János Pálúr – Sortie Improvisation – Notre Dame de Paris

Willem Tanke

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Willem-TankeOfficial website:
http://www.willemtanke.com
YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/WillemTanke
Willem Tanke (b. 1959) studied organ and improvisation with Jan Welmers, music theory with Joep Straesser and electronic music with Ton Bruynel at Utrecht Conservatory. In 1985, he finished his studies with the Performance Diploma for Organ with full marks (the grade of 10 and honours), and also with diplomas for music theory and improvisation.
Willem Tanke was a professor of organ at Utrecht University of Professional Arts Education from 1988 until 2000. Since 2001, he teaches organ, improvisation and theory at Rotterdam Conservatoire.

Video:
Indian rhythms in organ improvisation

Paolo Oreni

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paolo_oreniOfficial website:
http://www.oreni.org/
YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/organinternational

Born in Treviglio in 1979, Paolo Oreni started his Musical studies with Organ when he was just 11, with Walter Zaramella at Gaetano Donizetti Musical Institute. An important and really crucial step for his Musical Background was his Musical Encounter and Musical Connection with Jean Guillou, during several Masterclasses followed at St. Eustache Church in Paris and Tonhalle in Zurich (Stiftung für Internationale Meisterkurse für Musik). Since 2006 he’s regularly invited, by the Diocese of Munich, Duomo di Modena, the Basilica in Ottobeuren and at Altemberg Cathedral, to hold Masterclasses focused on Improvisation and Organ Repertory raising from Bach to contemporary Music.

Videos:
Concert Improvisation – Bochum, Germany
Olivier Latry with Vincent Dubois, Paolo Oreni and Michael Bottenhorn – Happy Birthday – St. Joseph, Bonn Beuel
Olivier Latry, Philippe Lefèbvre, Vincent Dubois, Paolo Oreni and Kalevi Kiviniemi – Improvisation-à-cinque – St. Joseph, Bonn Beuel

Vincent Dubois

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VincentDuboisDirector of the Conservatoire and the Académie supérieure de musique de Strasbourg, and titulaire of the grand-orgue of the Cathedral in Soissons, Vincent Dubois won the 2002 Royal Bank Calgary International Organ Competition and is now represented by Karen MacFarlane Artists.


Recordings:

Vincent Dubois Plays the Cavaille-Coll at Saint-Sulpice in Paris, France
Includes a free improvisation and repertoire by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Liszt, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Maurice Duruflé.

Videos:
Vincent Dubois – Improvisation – Reims Cathedral
Olivier Latry, Vincent Dubois, Paolo Oreni and Michael Bottenhorn – Happy Birthday – St. Joseph, Bonn Beuel
Olivier Latry, Philippe Lefèbvre, Vincent Dubois, Paolo Oreni and Kalevi Kiviniemi – Improvisation-à-cinque – St. Joseph, Bonn Beuel

Jan Overduin

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A multi-award winner, Jan Overduin won the Healey Willan Prize in 1963; the International Organ Competition in London, Ontario (1967), second prize and finals in improvisation; the Festival of Flanders International Organ Competition in Bruges, Belgium (1970), finals; and the St. Alban’s International Organ Competition (1973), shared main prize, finals in improvisation, and the audience prize. He has been the recipient of several Canada Council awards for studies abroad during the 1960’s, allowing him to study with, among others, Marie-Claire Alain, Jean Langlais and Peter Hurford.

Jan Overduin was University Organist and Professor (and Chair) of the Organ and Church Music Department at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, where he also conducted the WLU Chapel Choir. He served as Director of Music at St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Kitchener for over 12 years, and as Director of Music at First United Church in Waterloo, where under his supervision a 44-stop tracker-action organ by Gabriel Kney was installed in 2004. In 2005 the Kitchener-Waterloo Arts Foundation honored him with its “Lifetime Achievement Award”.


In his book, Making Music: Improvisation for Organists, Jan Overduin shows that improvisation requires neither a virtuosic command of the instrument nor a magisterial command of music theory. These simple but satisfying, loosely-graded, exercises are aimed at bolstering self-confidence and enable the student to improvise from the start.

Sietze de Vries

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sietze_de_vries


Official website:
http://www.sietzedevries.nl/

Sietze de Vries received his professional training from, among others, Wim van Beek, Jan Jongepier and Jos van der Kooy. He was awarded his undergraduate degree at the Groningen Conservatoire; at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague he completed his post-graduate studies with an endorsement for improvisation. In addition, he graduated from the Alkmaar school for church music with the Dutch church music diploma.

Between 1987 and 2002 he won fifteen prizes at various national and international competitions for both repertoire and improvisation. The pinnacle, and also the conclusion, of that period was his triumph at the International Improvisation competition in Haarlem in 2002. On two previous occasions he had been a finalist.

He has many recordings available here:
http://sietze-devries.magix.net/
Many of these recordings have been shared on YouTube by the user Henk van den Brink.

DeVriesHarmonizingHe has written a book- Harmonizing: A Method to Encourage the Art of Improvising which covers basic theory while gradually moving toward improvising using I, IV, and V in easier keys. As the book advances, he includes harmonizing and improvisation on ii, iii, and vi as well as in minor keys and even church modes. Published by Boeijenga Music Publications. Available from the OHS Catalog here.


Videos:
Sietze de Vries – Improvisation on Psalm 130 – Grote kerk, Brouwershaven
Sietze de Vries – Improvisation on’The Old Hundredth’ – Martinikerk, Groningen

Bálint Karosi

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BalintKarosiOfficial website:
http://karosi.org/

A respected teacher of keyboard improvisation, Mr. Karosi has served on the faculty at Boston University and UMass Boston and is in demand as a private organ and improvisation instructor. In 2012, he won first prize at the University of Michigan Organ Improvisation Competition and was featured in an improvisation duel with renowned Dutch improviser Sietze de Vries at the National Concert Hall in Budapest. He also won a prize at the Brno International Improvisation Competition and the Rochette prize at the Conservatoire de Genève. He is the Minister of Music at First Lutheran Church in Boston, MA.

Lionel Rogg

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LionelRoggOfficial website:
http://www.lionelrogg.ch/

Professor of Organ at the Geneva Conservatory until 2001, Lionel Rogg has welcomed students from all over the world. He frequently gives master-classes and is now professor of organ and improvisation at the Royal Academy of Music in London.


RoggImprovCourseVol1He has written an Improvisation Course for organists, published in French and English by Editions Musicales de la Schola Cantorum. Volume 1 is practical harmony, ornamental counterpoint and chorale. Volume 2 is modal and free style. See a complete review of volume 1 here.


Recordings:

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. There is a video below that is likely made from this recording, but until I get a copy of the recording this is an unverified claim.

Audio:
Lionel Rogg – Variations and Fugue on a theme of Albert de Klerk – 15th Haarlem Improvisation Competition

Videos:
Improvisation sur la Toccata en ré mineur
Lionel Rogg – Interlude improvisé – Hofkirche, Lucerne