In considering the role of the organ in terms of transcriptions for the instrument Jens Korndrfer poses the question:

The Organ An Unmusical Monster?

Introduction I dislike [] the fact that the monster never breathes.1 Stravinsky made no effort to conceal his opinion of the organ. And he is not alone in the musical world: After the Baroque era, major composers have either neglected this instrument entirely, or, like Schumann and Brahms, they devoted just some pieces to it, which are far from being their most significant.2 Even Mozart, who referred to the organ as king of instruments3, not only left behind no large-scale compositions for the organ apart from a few counterpoint exercises4, but also disdained the idea of employment as an organist5. Those who devoted a large part of their output to the organ were organist-composers in nineteenth-century France and Germany, e.g. C.M.Widor, L.Vierne, M.Reger and J.G.Rheinberger (although Harvey Grace probably goes too far when he states that Rheinbergers organ sonatas have greater artistic value than Beethovens piano sonatas)6. We have to wait until the 20th century to find a major composer Olivier Messiaen writing substantial music for it. The organ is the only instrument with a sustained, unaltered sound that can only be modified in a very limited way: the organist has control only over the attack and release of each note, but not the quality of sound in between those two events7. Therefore, he has very little influence on the actual sound quality, contrary to most other western instruments, and as such, the interpretation of music on the organ is hindered by the lack of the usual means of musical expression. As C.M. Widor commented, the organ speaks in a unique way: stiffly, majestically and self-limiting the language of the philosopher.8 Until the end of the Baroque era, this way of speaking seemed to have been sufficient for most composers, but after that it is evident that their attention was drawn to other keyboard-instruments which were seemingly more appropriate to expressing their intentions, eventually giving overwhelming preference to the piano. Although it took quite a while until the instrument as we know it today was developed, the piano would soon become the favorite instrument for most composers in the 19th and 20th centuries, mainly because of its great ability to encompass a wide variety of musical expression. Successfully adapting this instruments music to the organ would be equal to overcoming the organs inherent limitations. This has been attempted both in concert and in writing. For this essay, I will study two pianists (Franz Liszt and Camille Saint-Sans) who made significant performances on the organ, as well as three organ transcriptions of major piano pieces by Frdric Chopin, Sergei Rachmaninov and Sergei Prokoviev in order to prove that it is possible to make up for the performers lack of control over the instruments sound with small changes in the texture of the music; moreover, these limitations can even be used to the pieces advantage and the organ can add a new dimension to a well-known piano-piece. Franz Liszt and Camille Saint-Sans performing piano compositions on the organ During most of his life, Liszt had some kind of contact with the organ as improviser, teacher, composer, auditor9 and even as a soloist. The description of his improvisation on the Mooser-organ in Bulle (close to Fribourg) in 1836 is famous10, as are his comments on Bachs D-minor Toccata during a lesson he gave to Gottschalg11, not to mention his significant compositions for the organ. According to Gottschalg, Liszt was a respectable organist but he lacked fluency on the pedals.12 However, we know that he played at least twice as a soloist, 1839 in Rome (a fugue by Bach during the service in San Luigi di Francesi) and 1843 in Moscow in the protestant church SS. Peter and Paul. Thanks to Gottschalg, we know about the most unusual programme he used to play several times on the organ: Here he performed: the Andante from Beethovens Symphony in c-minor, [] the same masters theme and variations in A-flat-major (piano-sonata op.26) and a fugue by G. Friedr. Hndel.13 Furthermore, during his visits to Paris, Liszt met the great French organists and heard and played their instruments.14 In September 1878, Saint-Sans played Liszts first legend of St.Franois dAssise: La prdication aux oiseaux in concert in the Palais du Trocadro in the presence of the composer, who apparently liked the performance: Im still moved by the miracle of the bird sermon. You use the organ as an orchestra in such an unbelievable way as it is only possible for a great composer and performer like yourself.15 Occasionally, Saint-Sans would play the Legend in the church of La Madeleine in Paris as well, making the organ sound like a bird16 or as if it were being tuned17. In July 1882 he probably played Sposalizo from Annes de Plrinage at a concert in Zrich in Liszts presence.18 Whereas, in the 19th century, it was a common practice for virtuosi to play organ compositions on the piano, preferably using their own arrangements19, the other way round was rather exceptional. Both Liszt and Saint-Sans were very well known pianists and had no need at all to perform the pieces mentioned above on a different instrument. Certainly, one could object that at least Liszt had no choice, given his limited pedal-skills, and had to play pianomusic on the organ. But one should not forget that: 1. He simply could have improvised instead of playing written music. 2. He could have played music which is less characteristic to the piano

A U T U M N 2 0 0 9 | T H E O R G A N | No 350

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