Description

The pipe organ at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. is played by Todd Wilson in this live recording. He is winner of the Grand Prix de Chartres in France, is head of the organ department at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and is the organ curator of the Cleveland Orchestra, where he oversees the hall’s Skinner Pipe Organ. Mr. Wilson is also the organist at Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland. Todd Wilson remains one of the ultimate interpreters of the modern era. Of particular note on this CD is the Persichetti Sonata. The work was written for the pipe organ in 1960 and premiered by Rudolph Kremer in St. Louis, Missouri at Washington University. It is music that embodies Persichetti’€™s typically strong rhythmic drive and often dense harmonic language. It is rarely performed even in the United States, and almost never recorded. American composer William Bolcom’s “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” for the pipe organ is a jazzy chorale prelude that uses multiple color schemes at every dynamic level, and we hear the tune augmented throughout the work, almost beyond recognition, with the rhythmic interest placed in the accompaniment. Todd Wilson makes excellence use of the massive pipe organ in the cathedral and his performances throughout are, of no surprise, electrifyingly solid and, above all, artistic at the highest level. This recording comes with extensive documentation: notes on the music, stoplist and numerous photos.