“To Hell and Bach"

Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, BWV 548

J.S. Bach
(1685 - 1750)

Trio Sonata No. 1 in E-flat Major, BWV 525
I. (Allegro)
II. Adagio
III. Allegro

Choral Prelude on “Before thy Throne I now appear”

Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-H

Max Reger
(1873 - 1916)

INTERMISSION

Toccata “Brother of Sleep”

Enjott Schneider
(born 1950)

Akatombo (The Red Dragonfly)
from Three Japanese Sketches

Guy Bovet
(Born 1942)

Fantasy and Fugue on “Ad Nos Ad Salutarem Undam”

Franz Liszt
(1811 - 1886)

FELIX HELL

A native of Germany, Felix Hell is one of the most sought after concert organists in the world. He has been featured as a recitalist and concerto soloist in more than 1000 concerts throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The American Organist raved that he “sets standards that older and honored players would struggle to equal."

Past venues include Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, the Esplanade in Singapore, Dewan Filharmonik Petronas in Kuala Lumpur, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Great Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, National Center for the Arts Weiwuying in Kaohsiung, National Theatre and Concert Hall in Taipei, as well as Yongsan Art Hall in Seoul. Furthermore, Mr. Hell has performed in the cathedrals of Berlin, Regensburg, Riga, Bogota, Reykyavik, Munich, Ulm, Speyer, Worms, and Passau.

​Mr. Hell has been concerto soloist with the Baltimore Symphony, Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra, Busan Philharmonic, McGill Chamber Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, New England Conservatory Orchestra, Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, National Academy Orchestra of Canada, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Pfalztheaterorchester Kaiserslautern, and the Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie. 

​Felix Hell’s discography includes 12 CDs. His most recent recording titled "Poetic Visions" features Romantic Organ Music by German Composers, and is published by MSR Classics. It was recored on the historic 1902 E.F. Walcker Organ in Lüdenscheid, Germany and includes works by Reger, Mendelssohn, Rheinberger, Brahms and Liszt. His recordings are frequently broadcast throughout the United States and across the world; he has appeared on television globally.

Felix Hell is known for his diverse and innovative programming, drawing upon a repertoire encompassing five centuries. Furthermore, he has received global recognition for his marathon performances of the entire organ works of J.S. Bach, which encompass about 250 compositions and close to 20 hours of performance time. He has since performed the complete Bach cycle four times, most recently in 2013 in Seoul, Korea.

Mr. Hell is an avid supporter of new music for organ and frequently collaborates with composers.

Felix Hell studied at the Juilliard School in New York, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (BM), the Peabody Institute in Baltimore (AD, MM, DMA). In 2007, he received Johns Hopkins University’s prestigious Outstanding Graduate Award.

For more than 20 years Mr. Hell was Organ Artist Associate at Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan. He is currently Artist in Residence at the United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg. In 2011, Felix Hell was appointed Distinguished Visiting Artist at Kosin University in Busan, South Korea.

Bert & Candace Forbes