Organ Mania: Jürgen Essl Guest at the Sauer Organ

The program features works by significant composers of organ music, including Camille Saint-Saëns, Robert Schumann, and César Franck. The concert is complemented by compositions from Jürgen Essl himself, who enjoys international recognition not only as an organist but also as a highly awarded composer.

Jürgen Essl is a professor of organ at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts. Previously, he taught at the Lübeck University of Music and worked as a church musician in Sigmaringen. His concert and teaching activities have taken him to numerous countries in Europe as well as to Japan, Taiwan, Israel, the USA, and Mexico.

As a concert organist, Essl has performed in venues such as the Moscow Philharmonic, the Smetana Hall in Prague, the Vienna Concert Hall, Notre Dame in Paris, and the Maison de la Radio in Paris. His CD recording of organ improvisations from the Cathedral of Mexico City, in collaboration with Jeremy Joseph, received significant international attention and was awarded CD of the Year by "Klassik heute."

Essl has also made a name for himself as a composer. His extensive oeuvre includes works for organ, piano, chamber music, choir, and orchestra, including the oratorio "De Angelis." For his compositional achievements, he has received several awards, including the Composition Prize for Church Music from Baden-Württemberg and the Johann-Wenzel-Stamitz Prize in 2024.