Both acoustically and architecturally, the impressive new Mathis Organ is well suited to the large Gothic Hall Church of St. Jakob in Schrobenhausen/Germany. This versatile Organ now appears as a record for the first time, with Willibald Guggenmos presenting the programme heard during the dedication of the instrument (2009). Willibald Guggenmos was appointed to his first position as organist at the age of ten. His musical training began at the Conservatory in Augsburg/Germany, and continued at the Hochschule fuer Musik in Munich, where he earned a total of three Masters degrees, specializing in piano, conducting, and organ. From 1984 until 2001 he held a position as organist at St. Martin's Church in Wangen/Allgäu in South Germany, where he directed a richly varied musical programme. In 1985 he performed the complete works of J.S. Bach in 14 recitals. From 2001 until 2004, Guggenmos worked as organist, assistant conductor, and coordinator of music at the Cathedral of our Blessed Lady (Frauenkirche) in Munich. In January of 2004, Willibald Guggenmos was appointed organist at the Cathedral of St. Gallen in Switzerland. His career as a concert organist has taken him throughout the world. He has performed in almost every country in Europe, North and Central America, and the Far East, including Canada, Iceland, Russia, the Bahamas and various Caribbean Islands, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. Special venues include Notre Dame in Paris, St. Paul's in London, the Cathedrals of Seville, Copenhagen, Uppsala, Zurich, Brussels, Messina, Antwerp, Cologne, Warsaw, Riga, Reykjavik, Aosta, San Francisco, Ottawa, Sydney and Melbourne, St. Joseph's Oratoire in Montreal, and concert halls such as the Philharmonie in Munich, Liverpool's St. Georges Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Center, Sydney's Town Hall, and the Wellington Town Hall. International reviews have attested to his ''fantastic technique and dazzling musicianship'' (Bernhard Holland in the New York Times). His enormous repertoire includes the complete works of Bach, Franck, Liszt, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Boëllmann, Stehle, and Duruflé, the great works of Max Reger, and countless other important pieces written for the instrument. He has made several broadcast recordings for radio and television in various countries. Highlights among his CD recordings include performances on the largest Organ in Switzerland (Engelberg), the famous Cavaillé-Coll Organ in Azcoitia, Spain, and the legendary Hill Organ in Sydney's Town Hall (Australia).
