This means, on the one hand, that it can be used to perform orchestral works, and on the other hand, that a significant portion of the piano repertoire can be perceived in a new light if played on an organ. It is partly on the basis of this feature that the young American organist Nathan Laube developed his exciting and varied programme offering an assortment of German, Hungarian and French works.
How might Wagner's grandiose Tannhäuser overture sound on an organ? And how does Liszt's philosophical piano work addressing Faustian problems, the virtuoso Sonata in B minor, sound on the instrument, with its countless pipes and thousand colours? We can find out from the young American artist whom the Westfälische Nachrichten praised in 2019 as "one of the finest organists of his age in the United States.” Born in Chicago, the 34-year-old Laube served as a professor at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in New York from 2013 to 2020, and today heads the organ faculty at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. Liszt's masterpiece is not the only piece representing Hungarian music on the globetrotting musician's programme: he will also perform the world première of Akheron, one of the winners of Müpa Budapest's 2020 music composition competition, by Dávid Magda, who was born in 1984. Also featured are two 20th-century French works, one by Elsa Barraine, the other by Jehan Alain. Both are certain to be new to Hungarian music listeners. So this is a chance to hear an organ concert in which each number is a special one.
Wagner-Lemare-Nathan Laube: Tannhäuser Overture
Barraine: Prelude and Fugue No. 2
Dávid Magda: Akheron - world première (one of the winners of Müpa Budapest's 2020 music composition competition)
J. Alain: Fantasy No. 2
Liszt-Nathan Laube: Sonata in B minor
