Bach & Romantik beim ORGEL•PUNKT 12 im Basler Münster

Under the theme “Bach & Romanticism,” Münster organist Andreas Liebig will perform masterpieces by Bach, Mendelssohn Bartholdy (Sonata No. 5 in D major), Brahms (Three Chorale Preludes), Reger (“Aus tiefer Not”), and Franz Liszt (Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H) on the largest and most versatile organ in the region at Basel Cathedral.

“Bach is the beginning and the end of all music.” This dictum by the great Bach admirer Max Reger also sums up today’s program: from Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G major to Franz Liszt’s grand homage to the Thomaskantor.

Liszt’s great interest in the organ is reflected in his description of it as the “Pope of Instruments.” Famous are the organ experiments Liszt conducted with the legendary Tiefurt cantor Alexander Wilhelm Gottschalg on the village organ in Denstedt, not far from Weimar. One must imagine it this way: Gottschalg took his place on the organ bench and played the pedal, while Liszt—who evidently lacked pedal technique—reached around and took over the manual part, and in this way they experimented with organ effects and registrations.

Michael Schönheit, the organist at Merseburg Cathedral, comments: “When Franz Liszt came to Weimar as court Kapellmeister, he already had an international career as a pianist behind him. Yet it was not a pompous virtuoso who arrived in Weimar, but a magnificent artist who knew how to draw on the experiences of local musicians such as Johann Gottlob Töpfer and Alexander Wilhelm Gottschalg, and who, through his freshness and artistry, opened up new horizons for the Weimar organists, who were steeped in—and perhaps also burdened by—tradition.”

The Ladegast organ in Merseburg was of great significance to Liszt. He took a keen interest in the construction of this instrument—significant in the history of both the organ and music, and the first large Romantic organ in Central Germany—and drew inspiration from it for his most important organ works. The organ’s dedication on September 26, 1855, was met with an enthusiastic response. Liszt had planned to compose a Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H for the organ’s inauguration in 1856, but he was unable to complete the fugue by the inauguration date, so the premiere had to be postponed until the following year.

In a review by Franz Brendel in the *Neue Zeitschrift für Musik* of the dedication concert, the modern character of this outstanding instrument and its significance for the new organ style created by Liszt are emphasized: “The character of this instrument differs significantly from that of all other organs. In terms of power and richness, when the full organ is used, it certainly rivals the very best. But it is unique in its kind when it comes to the softer registers. There is a melodiousness, a mellowness to it that I have not yet heard in other organs. The sound is—to describe the main point in a word—of a poetic nature. [...] Liszt now takes a similar approach to the organ as he once did to the pianoforte. Just as he was once able to play the pianoforte in a manner unique to himself, so too does he now know how to bring out the full brilliance and splendor of the organ.”

ANDREAS LIEBIG (born 1962 in Gütersloh, Westphalia) has been the Münster Organist in Basel since 2014. After teaching at the conservatories in Lübeck and Oslo, he also headed the organ class at the Tyrolean State Conservatory in Innsbruck from 2013 to 2015. Since 2018, he has been teaching at the Freiburg University of Music. In 1988, he won first prizes at the international organ competitions in Dublin and Odense. After studying church music in Herford, Liebig majored in organ, piano, and music theory in Stuttgart from 1983 to 1989, studying under Ludger Lohmann, Adu Frederica Faiss, and Helmut Lachenmann, among others. He continued his studies in Cologne, Paris, Vienna, Lübeck, and Freiburg with Michael Schneider, Daniel Roth, Hans and Martin Haselböck, Zsigmond Szathmáry, and with Sergiu Celibidache in Mainz. He has served as cantor and organist in Denmark, Norway, and Switzerland. Director of successful festivals and concert series, including the East Westphalian Organ Days (1992), the Lübeck Brahms Festival (1992), the Krummhörner Organ Spring (2001–2011), the International Summer Concerts in Dornum (Holy organ, 1710–11) and the Marienhafe Organ Summer (Holy organ, 1710–1713). Active concert career, CD, radio, and TV recordings, as well as master classes in Europe, North and South America, and Asia, with a wide-ranging repertoire from the Robertsbridge Codex to the avant-garde. Highly acclaimed Bach recordings on the historic organs in Groningen, Trondheim, Oelinghausen, and Dornum. Juror for international competitions. In 2025, the Arcantus label released two critically acclaimed CDs (“Sternstunden aus dem Münster,” Musik & Theater) recorded on the Basel Minster organ with soprano Gudrun Sidonie Otto:

DE PROFUNDIS (arc 25050): Works by Bach, Reubke, Reger, Gubaidulina, Manneke, and Nono, as well as NOSTALGIA: Brahms, Eleven Chorale Preludes, op. post. 122, and Dvořák, Biblical Songs, op. 99 (arc 25051).

www.basler-muensterkonzerte.ch

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