Organist

With Francis Poulenc's rarely performed Organ Concerto, Christian Schmitt brings us a virtuoso performance of the concert hall organ in the Graz Musikverein. In Camille Saint-Saëns's famous Organ Symphony , the organ later functions as an instrument almost equal to the orchestra. A new sonic discovery, however, is "Amor Fati ," an orchestral piece in which the contemporary Cretan composer Giorgos Koumendakis brings the music of his homeland to life without the use of traditional Greek instruments, for example, through rich ornamentation in the strings, thiaboli and mandora sounds, and rhythmic patterns of transcribed birdsong in the woodwinds.

2nd Music Association Concert

Stefaniensaal

The "Organ Symphony" is one of France's most important symphonies. The work's name, incidentally, does not originate from the composer – Saint-Saëns preferred to call it a "symphony with organ." The organ is "merely" one timbre among others – it is sparse, but its impact is all the more powerful. A piano duo is also part of the orchestra. While the "Organ Symphony" is not a religious composition, the melody of the "Dies Irae" nevertheless runs through the entire work. The two gigantic sections – approximately 20 and 15 minutes long respectively – contain the usual four symphony movements. Saint-Saëns considered this (his last) symphony to be his magnum opus.

Polyphonic

Bochumer Symphoniker

Jubilant choirs in high church halls, hardly anything reminds us more vividly of the deeper meaning of Christmas: the birth of a child and the promise of a happy future. And so the NDR Vokalensemble groups its Christmas concert around Johann Sebastian Bach’s motto »Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied«. Bach has two choirs compete with each other in the praise of God. And the magnificent final fugue »Alles was Odem hat, lobe den Herrn« with its virtuoso colouratura really hardly gives the singers a chance to catch their breath.

EPSG:4326

NDR Vocal Ensemble / Heide Müller

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

There is no better way to start Advent Sunday than with a varied, atmospheric organ concert: Christian Schmitt, renowned concert organist with a professorship at the Rotterdam Conservatory, invites you to a matinee with a program that presents the "queen of instruments" from the most beautiful romanticism to a piece exclusively for the pedals (i.e. played with the feet!).

Christian Schmitt, organ

The November concert by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Robert Jindra, will present remarkable works of American and French music. Samuel Barber wrote Toccata Festiva, Op. 36 for the inauguration of the new organ at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. It will be performed at the Municipal House in Prague by the excellent organist Christian Schmitt.

Saint-Saëns “Organ”

Municipal House

An offer for children and young people from grades 5 to 8 — but also for other curious people who have time in the morning: The approximately one-hour program features selected works from a symphony concert, explained and performed by General Music Director Stephan Zilias and the Lower Saxony State Orchestra Hannover.

First youth concert

Staatstheater Hannover

“It was actually an opera that I tried to compose, but ultimately couldn’t compose.”
Pascal Dusapin on Waves
At first, Pascal Dusapin considered writing a musical theater work based on Virginia Woolf's novel The Waves . It ultimately evolved into a kind of organ concerto, a "duo for organ and orchestra." Dusapin explains: "Very abstract questions occupied me while working on Waves , questions of tectonics—how different surfaces shift against and into each other." The forces of these tectonic plates, turned into music, initially unfold through the interaction and interaction of "normal" trumpets and signal trumpets. The signal trumpets are positioned to the left and right of the organ. They sound "as if from the organ," in the same boat. The organ itself also begins with these notes, with a characteristic rhythm; everything blends together, magnificently orchestrated. 

First Symphony Concert

The stage is set for our favourite organist, who is also in great demand on the international scene: In the last organ concert of this season, Christian Schmitt will play our large concert hall organ – accompanied by our solo flutist Daniela Koch and our deputy solo violist Branko Kabadaić. The concert begins with a fascinating etude for organ pedal, which Christian Schmitt premièred in Zurich in 2023 – and about which the composer Maximilian Schnaus writes: »The musical idea illuminates the peripheral areas of the organ sound and the peripheral areas of our perception.« Liszt studied Bach’s organ works and passions intensively, particularly during his time in Weimar – and his affection for this Baroque master found intimate expression in the Andante »Aus tiefer Not«, written in 1859. Paul Hindemith wrote this touching funeral music on a concert tour in London on 21 January 1936 within a few hours after King George V had died there on the previous day. Bach’s masterful Sonata in G major captivates with its skilful interweaving of voices between the two instruments. For César Franck, it was clear: »Mon orgue? – C'est un orchestre!« And that is exactly how his magnificent musical creations sound – including the »Grande pièce symphonique«, completed in 1862, which even bears the required orchestral gesture in its title. Tōru Takemitsu, the cosmopolitan and influential composer from Japan, created an almost revolutionary work in 1971 with his flute piece »Voice« – because the human voice is included here in an interesting way. To wrap things up, the concertino by Cécile Chaminade, written in 1902, impresses with its breathtaking virtuosity, passionate gestures, shimmering harmonies and yearning melodies.

Organ concert: Schmitt Koch Kabadaić

Bamberg Concert Hall

Happy 85th birthday on 20 February 2025! We wish this to our Honorary Conductor, for whom one thing is for sure: »Music gives you youth, freshness and lots of new beginnings.« Christoph Eschenbach always leaves an impression with his unmistakable aura: he is not a podium matador by any means, but rather comes across at times like a Buddhist monk with his convincing gestures and penetrating eyes full of warm-heartedness. A conductor who prefers silence rather than many words – and one who sees himself as a »musician among musicians«. This results in captivating interpretations with a great sense of mutual understanding, including such works close to his heart as in this year’s programme: Christoph Eschenbach once said that Bruckner was one of his »greatest treasures«. He discovered his love for Bruckner’s music while listening to a radio programme as a boy. And it still fascinates him to this day, so he explores the fascination of Bruckner’s first work with us – this »cheeky little fellow«. It is truly a great blessing that we have been able to come together with such a charismatic artistic personality for such a long time. It is like a longstanding and very close love affair that is constantly being revitalised – also with Saint-Saëns’ »Organ Symphony«: this powerful piece was recorded with Christoph Eschenbach and our orchestra at the Bamberg Cathedral back in 1987 for an audio release. We have every reason to be excited about how the work will sound together with our house organist Christian Schmitt on the concert organ our audience loves so much – after all, our Honorary Conductor remains curious in his old age: »I want to still be conducting when I’m 100, because I might be able to discover even more at the age of 99 than I can at the moment.«

Christoph Eschenbach, Christian Schmitt

There is life between ashes and dust, but which one? Before we become fluff in space, it would be good to create something that lasts forever. Maurice Ravel was very close to death his whole life. In his ballet music for "Daphnis and Chloé" he managed to revolutionize the sound of something that seems so natural, such as the sunrise...

Immortality

Mannheimer Rosengarten

Guest Concert

Graf-Zeppelin-Haus

After the Saalbau audience enthusiastically received the performances of Fazil Say's violin and clarinet concertos, this season we will hear a double concerto for the popular combination of trumpet and organ. The work, which premiered in 2022, was commissioned by the two soloists themselves and was created in close collaboration with the..

Tourist, Congress and Saalbau GmbH

Über 650 Film-Soundtracks haben die Münchner Symphoniker eingespielt, darunter zu Klassikern wie „Das Boot“ oder „Das Schweigen der Lämmer“. Naheliegend also, die aktuelle Abo-Reihe Prinze Ÿ mit der Filmmusik zu Christopher Nolans Weltraum-Epos „Interstellar“ zu eröffnen. Damit ist auch gleich das von Chefdirigent Joseph Bastian konzipierte Thema des Konzerts vorgegeben: Musik und Technik. Die klangmächtige Symbiose eines Symphonieorchesters mit dem mechanischen Wunderwerk namens Orgel gelang 1886 Camille Saint-Saëns in seiner Orgelsymphonie. Da das Prinzregententheater über keine Orgel verfügt, kommt zeitgemäß ein digitales Modell zum Einsatz. Sergei Prokofjew wiederum schlägt den Bogen zurück zur audio-visuellen Schnittstelle. Nicht nur schrieb er selbst mehrere Film-Partituren, seine Symphonie Nr. 4 beruht auf einem früheren Ballett – und zeigt, dass hochklassige Musik auch sehr gut ohne Szenenbilder auskommt

Sternenweiss

Prinzregententheater

The concert is one of the programme pillars of the celebration of the current Year of Czech Music. It includes - with the exception of Bedřich Smetana and Bohuslav Martinů, who will be given their place at other concerts of this year's festival - compositions by the world's most renowned Czech composers whose works have become part of the constant repertoire.

Czech Philharmonic, Jakub Hrůša, Julia Fischer • Dvořák Prague international Music Festival

Rudolfinum

For their second consecutive night at the Proms, Jakub Hrůša and the Czech Philharmonic bring to life the blazing fanfares, raw outcries and hushed humility of Leoš Janáček’s unparalleled Glagolitic Mass. Inspiration for the work struck the composer in a misty wood. ‘Its moist scent was the incense,’ he wrote. ‘I felt a cathedral grow out of the giant expanse of woods ... Now I hear the voice of each arch-priest in the tenor solo, a maiden angel in the soprano – and in the choir I hear our people.’

Prom 50: Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass

Royal Albert Hall

For its second evening London’s BBC Proms, the Czech Philharmonic and its Principal Guest Conductor Jakub Hrůša have prepared a special programme: the seldom played Military Sinfonietta by Kaprálová, written during the late 1930s, will be presented alongside Dvořák’s Piano Concerto with soloist Mao Fujita. The finale comes in the form of Janáček’s monumental Glagolitic Mass.

Czech Philharmonic • London

Prokofiev conceived his fiery Fifth as “a symphony of the greatness of the human spirit.” This dramatic work caps a program of brilliant colors and unusual instrumentation: Guillaume Connesson’s Concerto da Requiem, alternately macabre and ethereal, the perfect showcase for Verizon Hall’s incredible Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ; and Claude Debussy’s dreamy Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, with harps and unusual string shadings conjuring images of nymphs frolicking in a glade.

Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Christian Schmitt is one of the rising stars in the world of the organ. Having performed in major concert halls from Los Angeles to Tokyo, he makes his debut in Liège with Mendelssohn's exuberant Fourth Sonata, one of Bach's greatest preludes and fugues, and the fiery Sonata by Julius Reubke (a disciple of Liszt), one of the most remarkable works in the romantic repertoire. In contrast, there is the neomedieval music of Arvo Pärt and a composition by the young German composer Maximilian Schnaus.

Christian Schmitt - Organ

Salle Philharmonique de Liège

Alongside his celebrated concerts in other cultural temples worldwide, Christian Schmitt has been our trusted »Principal Organist« for many years now. He is not the only one on the podium this afternoon, but together with musicians from the ranks of our orchestra, he creates magnificent sound effects – such as a work composed in 1976 referring to Marc Chagall: This painter-poet designed famous glass windows in iridescent colours in many places. The fascinating composition »Okna« by the Czech Petr Eben reflects his experiencing of Chagall‘s vitrage for the synagogue in Jerusalem. The piece is congenially encompassed by Bach's virtuoso music: the E-flat major prelude functions as an atmospheric overture, and the corresponding fugue follows as a masterful Baroque piece with three tightly interlocked themes. Trombone and organ then unite for the romantically-influenced »Morceau symphonique« by Alexandre Guilmant. The sparkling piece from 1902 captivates with its lyrical opening and its vibrant development with energetic, rocketing scales. Sofia Gubaidulina's 1978 sonata »Detto 1« is more spiritual – but the meditative lines also repeatedly produce heated cascades. Finally, the god of the seas symbolically makes his grand appearance: the impressive piece »Poseidon« was composed by the Swede Andrea Tarrodi in 2021. Everything here is in a state of flux with rising and falling sound masses.

Our principal organist Christian Schmitt

A regular performer on the global stage, the German virtuoso returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall to breathe life into its organ “Hurricane Mama” once again.

Christian Schmitt
Organ Recital

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Hill Auditorium’s Frieze Memorial Organ, named in honor of Henry Simmons Frieze, a professor of Latin and the founding president of UMS, is the focal point of the auditorium’s unique parabolic interior and one of the first great organs to rely on electrical connections from its keys. Frieze believed the shared experience of music was essential to a liberal education and to community life. Today, the organ is available to the University of Michigan students and faculty for teaching, practice, and performances to continue celebrating the beauty and diversity of the instrument.

UMS Live Session: Christian Schmitt, Organ

With invitations from the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Salzburg Festival and the Musikverein Vienna, ECHO award winner Christian Schmitt is undoubtedly one of the most sought-after concert organists of our time. Known for his virtuosic and charismatic playing, Christian is an “Artist in Focus” of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich as well as curator of the “International Organ Days.” Join us in welcoming him to the Meyerson!

Christian Schmitt | Gould Family Organ Recital Series

Meyerson Symphony Center

In 2020, conductor Dennis Russell Davies became chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic, which was founded in 1956 and serves as a living tribute to Leoš Janáček’s music. Janáček was educated in Brno and spent most of his life there, and his extensive experience working with and composing for choirs was evident in his compositions.

Brno Philharmonic Performance

University of Michigan

Anton Bruckner spoke to the conductor Arthur Nikisch about divine visions – perhaps this is a key to understanding his mystical choral motets? Estonian composer Arvo Pärt is also no stranger to periods of retreat and inner contemplation. Both composers transport their listeners to another world. In this program, their music will be combined with probably the best-known organ work of all time: Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor.

Soundscapes

Stiftskirche

concert together with our solo trumpeter, Manuel Mischel, and our solo trombonist, Philippe Stier. The sonata by the Venetian composer Dario Castello, born in 1602, offers an enormous range of emotions. In Widor's organ symphony from 1878, a vast array of stops are pulled out around a chorale-like theme, creating a brilliant sonic experience. Berio's "Sequenza" from 1966 explicitly prescribes elements of theatrical performance, including conscious breathing and vocal technique. The two organ movements, published only after Mendelssohn's death, were combined into a single sonata in 1993 with a new instrumentation – and represent a compelling musical experiment. 

Organ concert: Christian Schmitt, Manuel Mischel, Philippe Stier

Bamberger Symphoniker

A museum visit? Boring?! Not this one! In our narrated family concert, conducted by Benjamin Haemhouts, you can take a musical stroll through Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" and experience how the individual paintings evoke moods and the moods become musical sounds. The musicians of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, playing brass and percussion, along with soloist Christian Schmitt on the organ, considered the "queen of instruments," will create a truly special sound experience. Join us and experience "Pictures at an Exhibition" in a unique version that will take young and old alike on an exciting journey through the museum's corridors.

Organist

Christian Schmitt

Events

Upcoming events

Mar 29, 2026

Soundscapes · Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

Apr 12, 2026

Organ concert: Christian Schmitt, Manuel Mischel, Philippe Stier · Bamberger Symphoniker

May 9, 2026

Family Concert: Pictures at an Exhibition · Bamberger Symphoniker

Past events

23 - 24 Feb, 2026

2nd Music Association Concert · Oper Graz

12 - 13 Feb, 2026

Polyphonic · Bochumer Symphoniker

Future and recently performed repertoire

Organ in Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky

Bamberger Symphoniker

Organ in Toccata Festiva for Organ and Orchestra by Barber

Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra

Organ in Glagolitic Mass by Janáček

Czech Philharmonic

Organ in Flute Concertino by Chaminade

Bamberger Symphoniker

Organ in 6 Organ Sonatas by Mendelssohn

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

Organ in Symphony No. 3 by Saint-Saëns

Bamberger Symphoniker

Organ in Sonata for Viola da Gamba in G major by Bach

Bamberger Symphoniker

Organ in Suite for Orchestra: Interstellar by Zimmer

Münchner Symphoniker

Organ in Symphonie by Prokofjew

Münchner Symphoniker

Organ in The Twin Paradox by Haas

Münchner Symphoniker

Organ in Orgelsymphonie by Saint-Saëns

Münchner Symphoniker

Organ in Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani in G minor FP 93 by Poulenc

Oper Graz

Organ in Symphony No. 3 in C minor Organ Symphony by Saint-Saëns

Oper Graz

Organ in From the Organ Symphony No. 6 in G minor by Widor

Bamberger Symphoniker

Organ in Sonata for Trumpet, Trombone and Organ after Andante MWV W32 and Allegro MWV W33 by Bartholdy

Bamberger Symphoniker

Organ in Fantasia for Trombone and Organ by Mortimer

Bamberger Symphoniker

Organ in Andante by Lindberg

Bamberger Symphoniker

About

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