For this new release, Christoph Schoener combines obvious and surprising arrangements with Mozart's original works, and the new Wegscheider organ in St. Jakobi in Stralsund proves to be the ideal instrument in his respectful reference to the masters of the 18th century.
Mozart loved to improvise on the organ; he considered it "the king of instruments", so it is somewhat surprising that only a few " genuine" organ compositions found their way into his catalogue of works.
Schoener knows how to make the most of this instrument: be it for Mozart's original works, which were mostly composed for a self-playing instrument, or be it for the transcriptions, from the Magic Flute and Figaro to piano works such as the popular Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman". Even Franz Liszt, who is extremely knowledgeable about the organ, is among the arrangers ("Ave verum corpus") - if that's not incentive enough! In Schoener's selection, many a hitherto only imagined piece can be grasped with the hands, such as Mozart's quotation of the Luther chorale "Ach, Gott im Himmel, sieh darein im "Gesang der Geharnischten" from the Zauberflote, or many a polyphonic treasure in the F minor Fantasy or the late "Leipziger Gigue". All of this is lovingly presented and captured in the finest sound technology - a pleasure in several dimensions!
Christoph Schoener ranks among the most eminent church musicians of his generation. As a concert organist, Christoph Schoener has given recitals in many cathedrals and centres of music in Europe, Israel, South Africa and the USA. He has frequently been a much-acclaimed guest artist at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and at the organ of the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie. Christoph Schoener's last five CDs have appeared exclusively under the MDG label, most recently piano works by Mendelssohn and Brahms in arrangements for the organ, and before that two CDs of music by Reger and all Bach's toccatas for the organ a recording which won an ECHO-Klassik award in 2016.
