The series Künstler im Gespräch (Cybele Records) lets artists have their say. And it is worth it, as witness the long interviews (in German) with composer Wolfgang Rihm and organist Martin Schmeding. It certainly did not result in abstract or grandiose conversations. Famous composers are also just ordinary people with daily worries, it turns out. There is another reason that makes this release
… special. Here we hear Rihm's integral organ oeuvre from his teens and college days. The organ was his orchestra, so to speak, on which he improvised quite ferociously during nightly sessions. Some of those improvisations were developed into the compositions that Martin Schmeding plays here. Schmeding is not the first to tackle Rihm's organ music. Dominik Susteck preceded him (partly) in this. However, this edition is more extensive, both in terms of words and music. As an encore, we hear some of Rihm's improvisations, as he recorded them around 1970. These are not all of Rihm's recordings as organist. For more improvisations you can go to the CD . (HJ)more
