Reger: Organ Suites Nos. 1 & 2

In both volume and artistic distinction there is little doubt that Reger was the greatest German composer for the organ since Bach. He relished Lutheran chorales and employed them freely, a sense of grandeur and gravity permeating his music for the instrument. The Suite No. 1 in E minor was completed in 1895, and admired by Brahms. It's four movements offer a compendium of Reger's genius for both complexity and transparency. His later Suite No. 2 in G minor, cast in seven taut movements, similarly employs contrast, imitation and variety whilst ending in a glorious and triumphant Fugue. Kirsten Sturm has won prizes in various organ competitions including first prize in the Hermann Schroeder Competiton in 1999. She was organist at the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Frankfurt from 2006 to 2010. Since 2010 she has taught at the University for Ecclesiastical Music in Rottenburg.