Organist: Encyclopedia II - Organist - Famous organists

Organist - Famous organists

Notable classical organists of today include: Marie-Claire Alain, Jennifer Bate, Diane Meredith Belcher, Kevin Bowyer, Carlo Curley, Ken Cowan, Eberhard Fölster, Rosalinde Haas, Felix Hell, David Higgs, Frederick Hohman, Peter Hurford, Paul Jacobs, Olivier Latry, Evgenija Lisitsina, Susan Jane Matthews, Alan Morrison, Thomas Murray, Kåre Nordstoga, Simon Preston, Cherry Rhodes, Lionel Rogg, Daniel Roth, Thomas Trotter, Wayne Marshall, John Weaver, Gillian Weir and Everhard Zwart.

The post of organist at most of the great cathedrals includes recital work and choral training. Musicians such as Malcolm Archer, Stephen Darlington and Barry Rose are accomplished organists as well as choral directors.

Notable organists of the past, many of whom were also composers for the instrument, include: Feike Asma, Johann Sebastian Bach, Louis-Nicolas Clérambault, Marcel Dupré, Louis Vierne, César Franck, Jean Langlais, Helmut Walcha, Virgil Fox, Charles Courboin, Fernando Germani, Maurice Durufle, Marie-Madeleine Durufle-Chevalier, Jeanne Demessieux, Pierre Cochereau, Karl Richter, George Dorringtion Cunningham, Sir George Thalben-Ball, Alexander Schreiner, Camille Saint-Saens, Karl Straube, and Everhard Zwart.

In Europe, the historical importance of churches as employers of musicians meant that many composers not now remembered for their association with the organ nevertheless were engaged as professional organists: for examples, Mozart, Max Reger, and Edward Elgar.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Famous organists", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki