ORGEL•PUNKT 12 Grand Finale at Basel Cathedral: Toccatissimo!

Grand Finale of this year’s Saturday lunchtime concerts, ORGEL•PUNKT 12, at Basel Cathedral: In this musical extravaganza, Cathedral Organist Andreas Liebig once again showcases the full sonic splendor of the Basel Cathedral organ, from glittering solo passages to the roaring sound of the tutti. Cathedral organist Andreas Liebig begins with J. S. Bach’s well-known triptych, Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C major, BWV 564. Those who wish may hear in this three-movement work a concerto that spans the liturgical year. The free passages in the manual and pedal, influenced by the North German *stylus phantasticus*, “herald,” as it were, the motivic material of the immediately following, Italian, festive concerto movement: Christmas.

The aria of the meditative middle movement, with its wonderfully melancholic, lingering solo cantilena, is followed by a mystical section “con durezze e ligature”—filled with poignant harmonies—as we know it from Frescobaldi’s Elevation Toccatas: Passion. And the dance-like fugue, with its signal-like triad motif and daring pauses, may already foreshadow the joy of Easter. Charles-Marie Widor’s (1844–1937) famous Toccata from his Fifth Organ Symphony never fails to thrill with its captivating rhythmic drive—a quality that also applies to the highly virtuosic Toccata by Maurice Duruflé (1902–1986). Its expansive melodies and fascinating harmonies are rich in Impressionist colors. “Transports de joië” (Outbursts of Joy from a Soul) from the four symphonic meditations on the Ascension, “L’Ascension,” by Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992), is the brilliant masterpiece of the 25-year-old organist at the Church of Sainte-Trinité in Paris.

In between: tranquil islands of meditation, including chorale preludes by Bach (such as “Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele”), the enchanting “Cantabile” from Widor’s “Symphonie Romane,” and a beguiling monophonic “Mélodie” by Messiaen: Experience the millennia-old acoustic space of Münster, from a whispering pianissimo to the opulent roar of the organ!

Andreas Liebig (born in 1962 in Gütersloh, Westphalia) has been the Münster Organist in Basel since 2014 and, following teaching positions at the conservatories in Lübeck and Oslo, also served as the successor to Prof. Reinhard Jaud from 2013 to 2015, he headed the organ class at the Tyrolean State Conservatory in Innsbruck. Since 2018, he has been teaching at the Freiburg University of Music. He studied church music at the Westphalian State Church Music School in Herford. From 1983 to 1989, he studied organ, piano, and music theory at the Stuttgart University of Music, studying under Ludger Lohmann, Adu Frederica Faiss, Heinrich Deppert, and Helmut Lachenmann; in Paris with Daniel Roth; in Vienna and Lübeck with Hans and Martin Haselböck; in Freiburg with Zsigmond Szathmáry; and with Sergiu Celibidache in Mainz. 1989–90: Scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to study with Hans Haselböck at the Vienna University of Music.

1992 Research fellowship from the State of Schleswig-Holstein. 1988 Awarded first prizes at the international organ competitions in Dublin and Odense.Teaching positions at the conservatories in Lübeck (1989–93) and Oslo (1995–97). Cantor and organist at several churches in Denmark, Norway, and Switzerland; among other roles, from 1996 to 2001, he served as cantor at Sagene Church—known as the “Northern Cathedral”—in Oslo, featuring its historic Hollenbach organ from 1891, and directed the Oslo Bach Ensemble. He has directed various successful festivals and concert series, including the East Westphalian Organ Days, the Brahms Festival in Lübeck, the International Summer Concerts at Ringebu Stavkirke (Norway), the Krummhörner Organ Spring (2001–2011), from 2002 to 2018 the International Summer Concerts in Dornum (Holy Organ, 1710/11), and additionally the Marienhafe Organ Summer in 2017/2018.

Invitations to festivals such as the Festival Suisse de l’Orgue, Copenhagen Summer Festival, Wexford Opera Festival, Odense Bach Week, Vienna Festival Weeks, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the St. Petersburg Musical Spring, the Lahti Organ Festival, the Oslo Baroque Music Festival, the Jornadas Internacionales de Órgano Zaragoza, the 41st International Organ Music Festival in Magadino, the Lisbon International Organ Festival, the 9th International Organ Festival of Bari, the Haarlem Summer Concerts at St. Bavo Church, El Sonido vivo (Castile and León), XVI International Organ Festival of Treviso, Summer Concerts at Roskilde Cathedral, Organi Antichi Bologna, Nieuwe Kerk and Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, Helsinki Organ Festival, Düsseldorf International Organ Festival, Modena Organ Festival, Madeira Organ Festival, Ravenna International Organ Music Festival, XI International Organ Academy of Granada, International Organ Summer at St. Wenceslas Church in Naumburg, Organ Art—International Master Organists at St. Jakob Cathedral in Innsbruck, 14th Rencontres de Musique Ancienne in Seurre, Organ Festival - Saint-Rémy-en-Provence, International Organ Festival of Uruguay, Vespers and Organ Masses on the Eve of the Feast at the Cathedral of Monza, International Organ Festival of the City of Trento, International Organ Festival Breda, Granada Festival, Grauhofer Organ Summer, Estoril Festival in Lisbon, “Non solo scriptura” in Wrocław, Avignon Festival, The International Organ Summer at Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavik, Rapallo Musica, Bach Days in Halle, Organ Recitals at Cologne Cathedral, Organ Concerts at Grossmünster in Zurich, Organ Summer at Freiburg Minster, International Organ Concerts at Oliva Cathedral.

In addition, he maintains a busy concert schedule, makes radio and television recordings, and conducts master classes in Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Korea, Croatia, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, Spain, Hungary, Uruguay, and the United States, featuring an extensive repertoire ranging from the Robertsbridge Codex to avant-garde works. Juror for international organ competitions.

Highly acclaimed CD recordings of J. S. Bach’s organ works on the historic organs of Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, the Martinikerk in Groningen, Oelinghausen Abbey, and in Dornum. In 2025, the Arcantus label released the two CDs *NOSTALGIA* and *DE PROFUNDIS*, recorded at Basel Cathedral, featuring the internationally award-winning soprano Gudrun Sidonie Otto and works by Bach, Reubke, Brahms, Dvořák, Reger, and Daan Manneke. Critics are enthusiastic: “Reference recordings!” “Magical moments from the cathedral!”

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