The 1988 Kuhn organ at the Justinuskirche in Frankfurt, Germany.

They all have two things in common. One is their youth, in their teens and early twenties. The other is enthusiasm. Hear a pair of organ scholars from Oxford, Paul Weber and other students from Lawrence University in Wisconsin, AGO O’Neal, and the acclaimed 14-year-old German phenom Felix Hell. They play up a storm and make it plain to hear that they are “not just kidding around.”

He took his first keyboard lesson at age seven, and only two years later won an important competition, made his international recital debut, and took on the duties of a church organist. Talk about precocious. On our next Pipedreams program, we visit with the talented young German phenom, Felix Hell, a student at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia with three compact discs and more than 200 recitals to his credit in Europe, Russia, and the United States. Did we mention that he just turned 16? We’ll chat with Felix and his father Hans-Friedrich, listen to performances from ‘the early years’, and sample his current state-of-the-art in concert and on CD. And you thought that organ music was only for old folks? Audiences around the world are changing their mind when presented with the dynamic playing of Felix Hell. It’s Felicitous Felix, this week on Pipedreams.

…a New Year’s survey of recent recordings, focusing on American artists and instruments.

Reviewing expected pleasures and uncovering unexpected treasures amidst the important works of Felix Mendelssohn.

Pipedreams rings in a new century with a retrospective of the old, paying tribute to important anniversaries and personalities of the year gone by, and reflecting on the new millennium. You’ll hear the new organ at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, soloists Martin Jean and Jelani Eddington, and the pioneering recitalist, teacher, and organbuilder Robert Noehren. You’ll sample archive concert tapes, and new compact disc releases, too, as host Michael Barone leafs through the pages of An Organist’s Millennial Yearbook.