Bach and Marchand, Scarlatti and Händel, Mozart and Clementi, Liszt and Thalberg - the story of musical duels is well known in musical history. The only difference between these contests and the Müpa Budapest Organ Duel is that with the latter there is no winner or loser, just two competitors who respectfully put each other's professional abilities to the test in a challenging but entertaining match-up. It is no coincidence that the contest takes place with an organ. Centuries of tradition dictate that organists should be extremely knowledgeable musicians. They must know how to improvise and transpose, and they also learn how to compose so that they can write church music, while many of them are even experienced in instrument design.
The first of the participants in the latest contest to be held in memory of Franz Liszt, one of the 19th century's greatest organists and organ composers, is the 1987-born Sebastian Küchler-Blessing, a German organist and college professor. Küchler-Blessing completed his studies in Freiburg and has been the organist of the Essen Minster since 2014. László Fassang (b. 1973), who is well known by Hungarian audiences and will enjoy 'home support', holds a professorship at both the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest and the Conservatoire de Paris. He is also the brains behind the Organ Duel. The event will be moderated by two outstanding musicians, the conductor and organist Péter Dobszay and the choirmaster Árpád Tóth. And, of course, there is one more star of the show: the much-admired, world-famous Müpa Budapest organ...
