Coming
up this weekend, it’s a new Music Cincinnati broadcast from 90.9 WGUC.
Featuring the Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church Organ Concert Series,
this special is sure to delight both aficionados and those new to the power
contained within this age-old instrument. Brenda Portman is resident organist
and executive director of the organ concert series, and Neal Hamlin is the
director of music.
The
Opus 3671 organ at Hyde Park Community United Methodist in Cincinnati was built
by Casavant Frères in 1990. It has nearly 5,000 pipes and was designed in the
French tradition fulfilling the dual role of choir and main organ. The upcoming
Music Cincinnati broadcast highlights this organ during the 2018–2019 concert
season. This instrument draws talent from across this globe. This past season
welcomed organists Thomas Heywood, Eric Plutz, and Bálint Karosi.
What
music can you expect to hear on this broadcast? A variety! You’ll enjoy
everything from a Passacaglia and Fugue by Bach, through the nineteenth century
with Louis Vierne, Felix-Alexandre Guilmant, and Debussy, and the twentieth century
with Dale Wood, Ernest MacMillan, and William Walton. The organists are some of
the world’s best. Thomas Heywood is known as the first Australian to make his
living as a professional concert organist. He teaches at the University of
Melbourne and is organist and director of music at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church
in Brighton. He is known for his transcriptions, and this program features his
arrangement of Debussy’s Clair de lune. Eric Plutz teaches organ at Princeton
University. He has recently become known for learning the complete organ
symphonies of Louis Vierne in anticipation of the 150th anniversary
of the composer’s birth in 2020. He performed Vierne’s Sixth Symphony at Hyde
Park Community United Methodist Church as part of that project, of which the
first movement is featured on WGUC’s Music Cincinnati. Bálint Karosi is known
as an organist, composer, conductor, and harpsichordist. He currently serves as
director of music at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan. He’s recorded
several Bach albums and is known for his interpretations of Bach’s work,
including the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 featured on this
month’s Music Cincinnati.
This
Music Cincinnati is one not to be missed! Tune into 90.9 WGUC Sunday, September
29 at 8 p.m., or listen online at wguc.org, via the WGUC app, or your smart
speaker. Not available at 8 p.m. this Sunday? Never fear! This program will be
archived at wguc.org the week following, and you’ll be able to listen to it at
your convenience!
