1949 Aeolian-Skinner organ at Boston’s First Church of Christ, Scientist, Massachusetts

Listen, my children, and you shall hear On this week’s Pipedreams program, soloists Leo Abbott, Tom Murray, Fred MacArthur, Catharine Crozier, and Brian Jones will take you on a tour of historic instruments in Beantown - from the immense Aeolian-Skinner organ at the Christian Science Mother Church, the E.M. Skinner instrument at Old South Church moved from Saint Paul, MN, and the historic Hooks in Jamaica Plain and the Immaculate Conception Church.

If the organ is the king of instruments, then our next Pipedreams program is a showplace for the kings of kings. This week we will compare seven of the world’s largest pipe organs in all of their Olympian splendor. We’ll listen to Peter Baicchi as he plays at the Crystal Cathedral and Fred Swann as he shows off the latest additions to First Congregational Church, Los Angeles. We’ll also visit the Cadet Chapel at West Point, the Mother Church of Christian Science in Boston, and Passau Cathedral, the largest church organ in Europe. And we’ll hear the mightiest of all, the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ in Philadelphia, and Senator Emerson Richards’ still-unrealized dream at Atlantic City’s Boarwalk Hall. It’s Big, Bigger, Biggest, the giants in their homes, this week on Pipedreams.

There’s something for everyone on our next Pipedreams broadcast. We’ll feature everything from charming Renaissance dances played on a restored instrument from the early 1500s to an improvised waltz that’s only a few months old. Our sampler of current CDs includes the sound of the largest church organ in New England and works by Bach played on an instrument from his time and territory. We’ll light up the dawn with a poem perfectly fitted to a venerable Skinner organ in one of Detroit’s once-fine neighborhoods, reminisce about the early days of Pipedreams broadcasts with a piece we premiered here, and savor the splendor of a Vierne Symphonic Finale played in grand manner on a near-perfect organ in Toulouse. From Dupré to Dirksen, and Willan to Walton, it’s a variety sampler of the best new organ compact discs, with profound preludes, delicious dances, and scintillating sorties. To keep up with the recent and the remarkable, we’re Going On Record with new releases in review, this week on Pipedreams.

…a tribute to one of America’s foremost recitalists and teachers, January 18, 1914 — September 19, 2003. Poise and brilliant playing were her hallmarks. They were evident at her national debut in 1942 and also in every recital presented during the next five decades. This week, we honor Catharine Crozier. She was an esteemed faculty member of the Eastman School, an internationally touring soloist, and an icon of integrity in her art. We'll hear Dr. Crozier in CD recordings and also in a remarkable recital performance from the Christian Science Mother Church in Boston, proving that she was still at the top of her form at age 76. We honor the life and memory of a revered teacher and organist of the top echelon.

Further glimpses at the remarkably diverse organ repertoire by American composers, recorded in and around Boston.

…an ongoing tribute to some of our native composers who know how best to exploit the pipe organ’s colors and agility.

…the unflappable American virtuoso Stephen Tharp talks about his career and introduces us to some pieces for which he has a strong attraction.

…repertoire from several centuries exploiting instrumental sonorities and compositional textures.