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
Classical - Released by Rondeau Production on Dec 9, 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
Classical - Released by Rondeau Production on Sep 30, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Max Reger: Organ Works - Symphony Organ of Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Apr 8, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reger - Great Recordings
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Mar 13, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Treasures
Classical - Released by Naxos Sweden - Caprice on Oct 29, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reger: Aus meinem Tagebuch. Bildnis eines romantischen Meisters
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Mar 17, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Imposant (Kathedrale Baseliek van Sint-Jan, 's-Hertogenbosch)
Classical - Released by P4Y JQZ on Mar 1, 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
Classical - Released by Oehms Classics on Sep 2, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Max Reger: Geistliche Lieder (Orgelfantasien aus der Thomaskirche Leipzig)
Susanne Langner, Ullrich Böhme, Max Reger
Classical - Released by Rondeau Production on Nov 25, 2016
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Max Reger: The Forgotten Romantic
Classical - Released by ACA Digital Recording, Inc. on May 7, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Welte Mignon Mystery, Vol. 5: Max Reger
Classical - Released by TACET Musikproduktion on Jan 1, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romantische Orgelmusik Vol. 1
Classical - Released by Paula on Jul 21, 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
Classical - Released by Saphir Productions on Nov 25, 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
Classical - Released by Rondeau Production on Sep 12, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Max Reger: Complete Works for Clarinet and Piano
Chamber Music - Released by Albany Records on Oct 1, 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
Classical - Released by Rondeau Production on Mar 20, 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
Concertos - Released by Classical Moments on Jun 14, 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
Classical - Released by Novus Promusica on Aug 23, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reger: Suite for Violoncello No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 131c (Digitally Remastered)
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on Dec 9, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reger: Organ Music
Classical - Released by Celestial Harmonies on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo