1731 Egedacher organ at the Klosterkirche, Zwettl, Austria

Related Links

Programs that feature this organ

#0205: Reach Out and Touch!

It’s a game of getting-to-know-you. First a few notes, then some others and before you know it, we’re into a new adventure in sound. For hundreds of years, players have explored the limits of their instruments and of their own techniques in works that evolved from the sheer tactile pleasure of pushing down the keys and seeing what happens. Marius Monnekendam in the Netherlands, Robert Elmore in the United States, Girolamo Frescobaldi of Italy, J.S. Bach in Germany and many others have written some of their most exciting music following this scheme. Tactile and tantalizing, our program explores four hundred years of repertoire, instruments from three centuries, and the delights of things done by hand. Better than a good massage, with a tingling sensation guaranteed, we Reach out and Touch the Art of the Toccata, this week on Pipedreams.

#0210: Archive of Cherchez les Femmes

The goal of our next Pipedreams program is clear enough, discover exceptional women musicians and given them center stage. And so we shall, with Irmtraud Krueger marching around the sanctuary in Poligny, France, Kathleen Scheide playing her own composition in Boston, Dorothy Papadakos improvising to the songs of humpback whales at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City, now isn’t THAT an image?! and Katharine Pardee responding to the muse of Sweelinck in Syracuse. Whether Under the Linden Green, or in the depths of the sea singing with humpback whales, talented women organists play for us, showing off a multiplicity of talents and tastes as we Cherchez les Femmes, and find them…this week on Pipedreams.

#0322: Gemini Jewels

From an historic monastery in Austria to Princeton University chapel, this week’s show features the work of three composers who happen to be born under the sign of The Twins [as in astrology, not baseball]. We’ll hear a Sonata for Organ and Strings by Daniel Pinkham, Gospel Preludes and a Princeton premiere by William Bolcom, and tantalizing toccatas from the 17th century by Georg Muffat. Join in as we celebrate their 80th, 65th and 250th late spring birthdays with a chest full of Gemini Jewels.

#0353: An Organist’s Yearbook

Ours is a pilgrim’s progress of sorts, traversing a year in retrospect and looking into the future. Join us as we take measure of the year 2003 and celebrate the art of the organ and its practitioners the builders, players and composers whose lives contribute so much to our experiences each week. We’ll play some recent compact discs, share shapshots of a trip to Italy, honor the memories of those who have passed to their rewards, and prognosticate a bit about what might come along in 2004.