Coronation
He loved to improvise on the organ, which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart considered "the king of instruments". It is all the more astonishing that only a few " genuine" organ compositions found their way into his catalogue of works. For his latest production, Christoph Schoener combines obvious and surprising arrangements with Mozart's original works. The new Wegscheider organ in St. Jakobi in Stralsund proves to be the ideal instrument in his respectful reference to the masters of the 18th century.
Rescue
The Stralsund organ has had a chequered history: the magnificent case has always fascinated art-loving visitors from all over the world, but for a long time the organ work behind it did not live up to its visual pretensions. The first instrument soon fell into disrepair due to inferior workmanship, and later alterations and extensions tended to worsen the condition and threatened to destroy the ornate carving through overloading. It was not until Kristian Wegscheider completed a new building in 2020 that the ornate exterior was matched by an adequate interior.
W.A. Mozart
(1756 - 1791)
Mozart on the organ
Christopher Schoener
Wegscheider organ
St. Jakobi Stralsund
MDG 949 2269-6 (Hybrid SACD)
Price: 21,99 €
Conviction
Schoener knows how to make the most of this: Be it for Mozart's original works, which were mostly composed for a self-playing instrument, or be it for the transcriptions, from the "Magic Flute" and the "Figaro" to piano works such as the popular Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman". Even Franz Liszt, who is extremely knowledgeable about the organ, is among the arrangers ("Ave verum corpus") - if that's not incentive enough!
Perfection
In Schoener's selection, many a hitherto only imagined piece can be grasped with the hands, such as Mozart's quotation of the Luther chorale "Ach, Gott im Himmel, sieh darein im "Gesang der Geharnischten" from the "Zauberflöte", or many a polyphonic treasure in the F minor Fantasy or the late "Leipziger Gigue". All of this is lovingly presented and captured in the finest sound technology - a pleasure in several dimensions!
