AES Berlin 2017
Monday, May 22, 20:00 — 21:30 (Off site 1)
Organ Concert—"Jazz Meets Classical"
Sigrid Erbe-Sporer (Presenter), Francis Rumsey (Presenter)
AES conventions have entertained delegates with an organ concert for many years, but at the 142nd in Berlin there’ll be a new twist. This time classical themes will morph into jazz style on one of the city’s finest pipe organs.
Included in Francis’ first half program: Mozart’s Fantasia in F minor and Widor’s Finale from the 6th Organ Symphony. Morphing into jazz style for the second half, Sigrid starts with "Mozart Changes" composed by Zolt Gárdonyi, which starts in classical style and gradually shifts into jazz mode. Sigrid continues with the "Suite Jazzique" of Johannes Matthias Michel, inspired by the well-known "Suite Gothique" of Leon Boellmann.
The organ at St Matthias was built in 1958 by the firm of Romanus Seifert & Son. From 1972–4 it was enlarged by Seifert to become what was then the largest organ in Berlin, containing 109 ranks and 74 stops. In 1993 it was subject to a general overhaul during the church renovation, and a new console was built by Stockmann. Thanks to recent additions in 2008–9 it now has an extensive combination system and a few more ranks, bringing the specification to 111 ranks and 76 stops, arranged on four manuals and pedal. More information can be found at http://www.die-orgelseite.de/specials/stmatthias/stmatthias_e.htm, and http://st-matthias-berlin.de/musik/die-st-matthias-orgel.html