RHEINBERGER: Organ Works, Vol. 1 (Rubsam)

Organist, conductor, composer and teacher, Rheinberger was born in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, where he held his first appointment as organist. He moved in 1851 to Munich, studying at the Conservatory, where he later taught, his pupils including Humperdinck, Wolf-Ferrari and Furtwängler. Rheinberger was an amazingly prolific composer in many genres. Today he is chiefly remembered for his organ music, a continuing element in any performer’s training and repertoire. His twenty Organ Sonatas are varied, impressive and technically accomplished, testifying to the continuing tradition of fugal writing that stems from Bach. The present volume includes the first four of these, with the second, the Fantasie-Sonate, and the third, the Pastorale-Sonate, bearing titles that go some way towards describing their musical content.

Rheinberger, Joseph Gabriel

 Organ Sonata No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 28

 Organ Sonata No. 2 in A-Flat Major, Op. 65

 Organ Sonata No. 3 in G Major, Op. 88

 Organ Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 98