1974 Phelps organ at Hexham Abbey, England, UK

This week on Pipedreams host Michael Barone visits with one of the world’s foremost recitalists, Gillian Weir. She talks about her fascination with the organ and the challenges and responsibilities of a global career, and plays from her repertoire - which covers pretty much anything from the late Renaissance to the modern-day. Hear instruments in Denmark, England, Wisconsin, the Netherlands, and Texas, and discover how artistry and charm go hand-in-hand. When the magnificent Dame Gillian plays, it’s proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is nothing like a Dame.

We’ve everything from a 16th century Italian dance to a grand orchestral march, featuring instruments of only a dozen stops to several hundred. On our next Pipedreams program, we sample some recent recordings from Saint Christopher’s-by-the-River in Ohio, and the Riverside Church in New York City, the first CD release from Ocean Grove Auditorium, the latest from the Mormon Tabernacle, plus a tribute to Dame Gillian Weir, the last album from George Wright, and a pair of critically acclaimed surveys of the complete organ works of Marcel Dupré. Sounds good? You bet! We’re Going On Record with a review of recent recordings this week on Pipedreams.

It’s a multiplicity of riches on our next Pipedreams program, a sampling from sixteen new releases, including historically correct instruments at Stanford University in California. We’ll also visit Presbyterian churches Rochester and Buffalo, New York, Hexam Abbey in England, and the Cathedrals in Fulda, Germany and Washington DC, hearing Wolfgang Rübsam, Paul Manz, Gillian Weir and still others perform at the top of their game. From the Church of Saint Sulpice in Paris to the west coast of America, we’ll hear colorful music from four centuries of repertoire showcasing the king of instruments in all its glory.

Today’s world culture is nothing new to the pipe organ, which has been importing and integrating international influences for centuries.

Three contemporaries, a German, an Englishman and an American, embraced the pipe organ in divergent yet harmonious ways.

…a visit with world-travelling New-Zealand-born British recitalist and teacher Dame Gillian Weir.

…a delectation of French music, with particular emphasis on the organ works of centenarian Jean Francaix (1912-1997)

…a sampler of some of the instruments to be visited during the Spring 2016 Pipedreams Group Tour in northern England and Scotland.

…a selective sampler of some of the venues to be visited during the upcoming Pipedreams Tour in northern England and Scotland (May 16-29, 2016).

…an exploration of several little-known organ concertos, some with and some without extra instruments.

Concertos and other musics for organ with diverse collegial involvements.