Max Reger
Max Reger was an important composer whose artistic worth far surpasses his still generally meager representation on the concert stages and in recordings. In his teen years, he came under the disparate influences of Bach and Wagner, and eventually fused a style from these sources, adding his own unique and seemingly ubiquitous counterpoint, to fashion music that was both ahead of its time and inextricably bound to the past. His mature idiom melded Baroque structural ingredients with the opulent harmonic palette of the late Romantic period. His organ compositions include masterworks like the chorale fantasia Ein feste Burg is unser Gott, Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, and Fantasia and Fugue on B-A-C-H. His huge chamber music output, consisting of nine sonatas for violin and piano and many other works, is an important body of work.
Reger was born in Brand, Bavaria on March 19, 1873, and grew up in Weiden. He studied organ and violin with his father, and piano with his mother. At 11, he began studies with organist Adalbert Lindner. In 1888, Reger traveled to Bayreuth and heard performances of Wagner's Parsifal and Die Meistersinger. The experience had a lasting effect on him, the harmonies and sounds of the latter opera profoundly affecting his musical psyche. In 1890, he began studies in Wiesbaden with Hugo Riemann and soon produced his Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 1 (1890-1891).
Reger developed a friendship with composers Eugen d'Albert and Feruccio Busoni in the mid-1890s. During this time, he wrote several compositions for piano, including Lose Blätter (1894) and Aus der Jugendzeit (1895). After an unpleasant experience in the military that affected his physical and mental health, he returned to his parents' Weiden home to recuperate. During this period, he produced his Op. 27 chorale fantasia Ein Feste Burg is Unser Gott, and his Op. 29 Fantasy & Fugue in C minor. Reger also earned a reputation as a brilliant pianist at this time, playing many concerts of wide-ranging repertoire, including his own works.
In 1902 Reger married Elsa von Bercken. The Sinfonietta in A (1904-1905) set off a most unwelcome stir for the composer, placing him at odds with the more conservative musical circles in Munich, where he had settled in 1901. By 1907 Reger had decided that the hostile climate in Munich was not worth enduring any longer, and accepted a professorship at Leipzig University. His many students there included Szell, von Hoesslin, Joseph Haas, Schoeck, Kvapil, and Weinberger. His Violin Concerto (1907-1908) and the Symphonic Prologue to a Tragedy (1908) came during this period.
In 1911, Reger was appointed conductor of the Meiningen Court Orchestra by Duke George II. He continued appearing as a pianist and always found time to compose. In February, 1914, he suffered a breakdown from troubles in his Meiningen post and eventually resigned. By September 1914, he had finished Eight Sacred Songs and the Patriotic Overture for orchestra. In March 1915, the composer and his family settled in Jena, where he completed his Sonata No. 9 for violin and piano, declaring it his greatest work in the genre, and the first in his so-called "Jena style." Other important works came during his "Jena" period, including the Op. 131 chamber works for various string instruments (Op. 131a, Op. 131b, Op. 131c, Op. 131d). His concert schedule took him to Holland in May, 1916, where he died of a heart attack.
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Voktett Hannover: Tidings of Joy (Weihnachtslieder / Christmas Carols)
Felix Mendelssohn, Michel Praetorius, Heinrich Schütz, Max Reger, Voktett Hannover
Classica - Pubblicato da Rondeau Production il 9 dic 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Thomasorganist Johannes Lang: In the Spirit of Bach (Woehl-Orgel Und Sauer-Orgel Der Thomaskirche Zu Leipzig)
Johannes Lang, Johann Sebastian Bach, Max Reger, Tilo Medek
Classica - Pubblicato da Rondeau Production il 30 set 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Max Reger: Organ Works - Symphony Organ of Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Classica - Pubblicato da Signum Records il 8 apr 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reger - Great Recordings
Classica - Pubblicato da UME - Global Clearing House il 13 mar 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Treasures
Classica - Pubblicato da Naxos Sweden - Caprice il 29 ott 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reger: Aus meinem Tagebuch. Bildnis eines romantischen Meisters
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 17 mar 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Imposant (Kathedrale Baseliek van Sint-Jan, 's-Hertogenbosch)
Classica - Pubblicato da P4Y JQZ il 1 mar 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Britannic Organ, Vol. 8
Max Reger, Günther Ramin, Kurt Grosse, Walter Fischer, Joseph Messner
Classica - Pubblicato da Oehms Classics il 2 set 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Max Reger: Geistliche Lieder (Orgelfantasien aus der Thomaskirche Leipzig)
Susanne Langner, Ullrich Böhme, Max Reger
Classica - Pubblicato da Rondeau Production il 25 nov 2016
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Max Reger: The Forgotten Romantic
Classica - Pubblicato da ACA Digital Recording, Inc. il 7 mag 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Welte Mignon Mystery, Vol. 5: Max Reger
Classica - Pubblicato da TACET Musikproduktion il 1 gen 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romantische Orgelmusik Vol. 1
Classica - Pubblicato da Paula il 21 lug 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Oeuvres complètes pour violoncelle et piano, Complete Works for Cello and Piano
Alexandre Kniazev, Edouard Oganessian
Classica - Pubblicato da Saphir Productions il 25 nov 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The New Goll-Organ of Marktkirche Hannover
Ulfert Smidt, Johann Sebastian Bach, Louis-Claude Daquin, César Franck, Max Reger, Olivier Messiaen
Classica - Pubblicato da Rondeau Production il 12 set 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Max Reger: Complete Works for Clarinet and Piano
Musica da camera - Pubblicato da Albany Records il 1 ott 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Die Sauer-Orgel der Thomaskirche zu Leipzig
Ullrich Böhme, Max Reger, Eugène Gigout, Franz Liszt, César Franck, Marcel Dupré
Classica - Pubblicato da Rondeau Production il 20 mar 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Max Reger: Concerto for Piano & Orchestra in F minor, Opus 114 (1958)
Südwestfunk Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden, Hans Rosbaud, Erik Then-Bergh
Musica concertante - Pubblicato da Classical Moments il 14 giu 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Visions on Fugue: Buxtehude, Bach and Reger Arranged for String Ensemble
Varanus Ensemble, Max Reger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Dieterich Buxtehude
Classica - Pubblicato da Novus Promusica il 23 ago 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reger: Suite for Violoncello No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 131c (Digitally Remastered)
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 9 dic 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reger: Organ Music
Classica - Pubblicato da Celestial Harmonies il 1 gen 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo