This edition is the eighth in a series on the Welte Philharmonie Organ of the Britannic, sister ship of the Titanic. This type of organ is actually a music machine with a paper roll for music storage, comparable to a pianola or barrel organ. The reeled performances from roughly a century ago can still be played and then captured using our current recording techniques. Volume eight is entirely devoted
… to the organ works of Max Reger. Before the First World War, he was the most important German organ music composer. On CD 1 we only hear performances by the composer himself. Apparently he was not an experienced recital organist. There is something very dragging about his recital, which gives the impression that he was reading à vue from the score. Kurt Grosse's performance of the Fantasie and Fugue over BACH, recorded in 1924, is surprising. The freedom with which Grosse plays the Fugue is especially a revelation. Unfortunately, the name of Karl Straube, who was Reger's main promoter at the time, is missing. (HJ)more
