SOPP528: Martin Sander About Organ Playing, Being Competition Judge And Physical Chemistry

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 528!

Today's guest is a German organist Martin Sander who is an internationally renowned concert soloist and professor of organ at the Hochschule für Musik (University of Music) Detmold as well as at the University of Music in Basel.

He studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover with Ulrich Bremsteller, organ, and Gerrit Zitterbart, piano and received his "Konzertexamen" degree in 1994. Master classes with Harald Vogel, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, Flor Peeters, Daniel Roth and other renowned teachers completed his musical education.

After having won one of the highest national awards, the Mendelssohn Prize in Berlin (1986), he succeeded in winning three of the most important international organ competitions:
the International competition of the ARD in Munich (1987, 2nd Prize; a First Prize was not awarded),
the International J.S. Bach Competition in Leipzig (1988, First Prize and Special Prize),
and the organ competition of Prague Spring Festival (1989, First Prize).

Other successes were the 2nd Prize at the International Organ Competition "Anton Bruckner" in Linz, Austria (1986) and the 2nd Prize at the First International Organ Competition Musashino-Tokyo (1988).

He has given recitals in many important churches and concert halls (amongst others, Cathedrals in Passau, Munich, Vienna, Helsinki, and Trondheim, Berlin Philharmony and Schauspielhaus, Herkules Hall Munich, Meistersinger Hall Nuremberg, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Brucknerhaus Linz, Dvorák Hall Prague, Tchaikovsky Hall Moscow, Kapella and Philharmony St. Petersburg, Suntory-Hall Tokyo, Izumi-Hall Osaka, Aichi Arts Center Nagoya, Teatro Municipal de São Paulo) and performed at renowned festivals (Bach Festival Stuttgart, Internationale Orgelwoche Nürnberg, Göttinger Händelfestspiele, Niedersächsische Musiktage, Musikfestspiele Saar, Prague Spring Festival, Wiener Musiksommer, Bach-Tage Odense, Festival Toulouse-les-Orgues, Philadelphia Bach Festival, and others). Read some press reviews here.

Among the orchestras he played with as a soloist are the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Händel Festival Orchestra Halle/Saale, Radio-Philharmonie Hannover, Bochumer Symphoniker (all in Germany), Basel Sinfonietta (Switzerland), Szolnók Symphonie (Hungary), Filharmonia Pomorska Bydgosz (Poland), Fukuoka Symphonietta (Japan), Orchestra of the Teatro Municipal de São Paulo (Brazil).

Various German and foreign stations recorded many of his concerts and invited him for productions. Especially successful was a TV recording of the organ sonata by Julius Reubke which also appeared on CompactDisc and was awarded the German critics' prize, "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik". His other CompactDiscs span the range from North German baroque music to the 20th century. A number of live recordings are available on YouTube.

From 1999 to 2012, he worked as a professor of organ at the Hochschule für Kirchenmusik (College of Church Music) in Heidelberg. Since 2011, he is professor of organ at the Hochschule für Musik (University of Music) in Detmold. Additionally, from 2008 on, he is teaching at the Hochschule für Musik (University of Music) in Basel (as the successor of Guy Bovet).

He conducted numerous master classes, amongst others in Prague (State Academie of Musical Arts AMU), Warsaw (Academy of Music "F. Chopin"), St. Petersburg, Kazan, Seoul (Yonsei University), São Paulo, and at historical organs of different times in Salzgitter-Ringelheim (Schweimb and John 1696/1707), Grauhof near Goslar (Chr. Treutmann d.Ä. 1734-1737), Verden/Aller (Furtwängler&Hammer 1916), and Heidelberg (Voit&Söhne 1903).

In this episode Martin Sander shares his insights about organ playing, being competition judge and physical chemistry.

Relevant link:
​http://www.martinsander.de