Mozart, Mendelssohn and Mahler

Felix Mendelssohn wrote often and well for the king of instruments, but his Hebrides Overture is not usually numbered among his standard organ essays. On our next Pipedreams program, though all of the music sounds simply fantastic, none of it was created for the medium of wind-blown pipes. If you’ve enjoyed the occasional appearance of the pipe organ in his Second and Eighth Symphonies, how about Mahler’s Symphony Number 5 arranged as an organ solo?

Good things are where you find them, and Frederick Hohman, Matt Curlee, Alexander Frey, David Briggs, and other friends tackle the matter of orchestral transcriptions with overtures for concert hall and opera house. Not your usual organ recital. For an extraordinary experience, it’s Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Mahler, this week on Pipedreams.

Listen to the program

Program Broadcast dates:

• April 1, 2002

Music played in the program

W.A. MOZART (transcribed by Weisflog & Kumer): Don Giovanni Overture, K. 527 –Thomas Weisflog, Scott Kumer (1928 Kimball, revised 1997/St. Thomas the Apostle RCC, Chicago, IL) Meridian CD-84372

FELIX MENDELSSOHN (transcribed by Edwin H. Lemare): Hebrides Overture, Fingal’s Cave Opus 26 –Frederick Hohman (1997 Schoenstein/First Plymouth Congregational, Lincoln, NE) Pro Organo CD 7077

GUSTAV MAHLER (transcribed by Gunnar Idenstam): Blicke mir, Rückert Song –Håkan Hagegård, baritone; Gunnar Idenstam (1949 Marcussen/Oscarskyrkan, Stockholm, Sweden) Proprius PRCD-9040

GUSTAV MAHLER (transcribed by David Briggs): Scherzo, from Symphony Number 5 in c# –David Briggs (1898 Henry Willis; 1971 Hill, Norman & Beard; 1999 Nicholson/Gloucester Cathedral, England, UK) Priory PRCD649

GUSTAV MAHLER (transcribed by Jerry Kinsella): Adagietto, from Symphony Number 5 in c# –Alexander Frey (1934 Aeolian-Skinner/Grace Episcopal Cathedral, San Francisco, CA) Private recording

GUSTAV MAHLER (transcribed by Matt Curlee): Rondo-Finale, from Symphony Number 5 in c# –Matt Curlee (1995 Reuter/Shadyside Presbyterian, Pittsburgh, PA) Pro Organo CD 7048