衛武營國家藝術文化中心 National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)

In the first of two Organ Recitals, Felix HELL presents numerous timeless works, including BACH's Toccata and Fugue in d minor, whose classic first two bars stand for ghost movies. Another work from BACH, the Great Fantasia and Fugue in g minor, got its name to distinguish it from the earlier and shorter Little Fugue in g minor. BACH's meticulous fugue techniques not only create layers but also stack energy, building emotional tension. These works also inspired the modern German composer REGER, using the letters of BACH's name as the musical framework to compose another Fantasy and Fugue that requires superb performance skills. The program continues with REGER's well-known work Benedictus, a warm piece that gives full play to the round and gentle timbre of the organ, followed by LISZT's soothing Consolations, Adagio in D-flat Major. Finally, LISZT's Fantasy and Fugue on Ad Nos, Ad Salutarem Undam, is an extremely virtuosic piece that even the composer admitted is challenging.

  Pre-talk  

2022/10/9(Sun)13:50 Concert Hall 3rd Floor

  Program  

J.S. BACH: Fantasy & Fugue in g minor, BWV 542

F. LISZT: Adagio in D-flat Major

M. REGER: Fantasy & Fugue on B-A-C-H

J.S. BACH: Toccata & Fugue in d minor, BWV 565

M. REGER: Benedictus, Op. 59

F. LISZT: Fantasy & Fugue on Ad Nos, Ad Salutarem Undam

  Artists Introduction  

Organ｜Felix HELL

A native of Germany, Felix Hell is one of the most sought after concert organists in the world. He has been featured as a recitalist and concerto soloist in more than 1000 concerts throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The American Organist raved that he "sets standards that older and honored players would struggle to equal."

Felix Hell's discography includes 12 CDs. His most recent recording titled "Poetic Visions" features Romantic Organ Music by German Composers. It was recored on the historic 1902 E.F. Walcker Organ in Lüdenscheid, Germany and includes works by Reger, Mendelssohn, Rheinberger, Brahms and Liszt. His recordings are frequently broadcast throughout the United States and across the world; he has appeared on television globally.

His project "Music Across America" allows him to travel with his own Touring Organ, performing organ concertos and recitals in spaces that do not house pipe organs, liberating the instrument from its historic confines.

Felix Hell is known for his diverse and innovative programming, drawing upon a repertoire encompassing five centuries. Furthermore, he has received global recognition for his marathon performances of the entire organ works of J.S. Bach, which encompass about 250 compositions and close to 20 hours of performance time. He has since performed the complete Bach cycle four times, most recently in 2013 in Seoul, Korea.

Mr. Hell is an avid supporter of new music for organ and frequently collaborates with composers.

Felix Hell studied at the Juilliard School in New York, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (BM), the Peabody Institute in Baltimore (AD, MM, DMA). In 2007, he received Johns Hopkins University's prestigious Outstanding Graduate Award.

Mr. Hell holds positions of Organ Artist Associate at Saint Peter's Lutheran Church in Manhattan, Distinguished Artist in Residence at the United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg, and Adjunct Professor of Organ at the Sunderman Conservatory in Gettysburg, PA. In 2011, Felix Hell was appointed Distinguished Visiting Artist at Kosin University in Busan, South Korea.