A Grand Organ Extravaganza! #2041

Hour One

J. S. BACH:  Toccata & Fugue in d, BWV 565 –David Briggs & Wayne Marshall, pianos; Olivier Latry, organ

ANDREW AGER:  Toccata & Fugue –Wayne Marshall, organ 

THIERRY ESCAICH:  Evocation II –Olivier Latry, organ

GEORGE GERSHWIN:  Rhapsody in Blue –Wayne Marshall, piano; David Briggs, organ

Filler - ESCAICH (see above)

Hour Two

DAVID BRIGGS:  Fantasy-Variations on Take the “A Train (after Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn) –David Briggs, organ

LOUIS VIERNE:  Allegro vivace (iv.) and Final (vi.), fr Symphony No. 1, Op. 14 –Olivier Latry, organ

LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN (arr.):  Improvisation on Beethoven Themes –David Briggs, Olivier Latry, Wayne Marshall (rotating among two grand pianos and the Verizon Hall organ)

Filler - BACH (see above)

The Verizon Hall stage was set with two Steinway concert grands and the remote console controlling the nearly 7000 pipes of the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ (2006 Dobson, Opus 76), and you share a front-row seat for some over-the-top performances by these three cordial colleagues who left no keys unplayed!  Thanks to Joe Hannigan of Weston Sound for making the recording (r. 2/26/20)

Additional Links

• David Briggs improvises on a variety of styles.  

• David Briggs’ CD of his transcription of Mahler Symphony No. 2.

• Olivier Latry improvises at Notre Dame (University). 

• Olivier’s new CD recorded at Notre Dame three months before the 2019 fire. 

• Wayne Marshall improvises on themes from “Porgy and Bess.”

• Wayne’s new CD recorded in Portugal, with sample of one of the fastest performances of the Widor Toccata on record.

Continuing support of PIPEDREAMS is provided in loving memory of Wesley and Lucinda Dudley by their family, with additional support from Walter McCarthy, Clara Ueland, and the Greystone Foundation, by Jan Kirchner on behalf of her family foundation, by the Art and Martha Kaemmer Fund of the HRK Foundation, in celebration of the life of Martha Hulings Kaemmer, and by listener-contributors to this public radio station. Additional support comes from Solid State Organ Systems of Alexandria, VA, and the Syndyne Corporation of Vancouver, WA, members of APOBA, the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, a collaborative of designers, creators, and maintainers of pipe organs found in religious and educational institutions, concert halls, and residences throughout the United States and beyond. An APOBA resource guide and member prospectus is available at APOBA.COM.