Max Reger; Johann Sebastian Bach - Reger inspired by Bach (Michael Schöch)

Information

Composer: Max Reger; Johann Sebastian Bach

• Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 (arr. Reger)
• Bach - Chorale Prelude "Ach wie nichtig ach wie fluechtig" (arr. Reger)
• Bach - Chorale Prelude "O Mensch bewein dein Suende gross" (arr. Reger)
• Bach - Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-H, Op. 46 (arr. Reger)
• Bach - Chorale Prelude "Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ" (arr. Reger)
• Bach - Chorale Prelude "Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt" (arr. Reger)
• Bach - Chorale Prelude "Das alte Jahr vergangen ist" (arr. Reger)
• Bach - Chorale Prelude "Herzlich thut mich verlangen" (arr. Reger)
• Reger - Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Bach, Op. 81

Michael Schöch, piano

Date: 2025

Label: Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm

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Michael Schöch, equally skilled on piano and organ, offers an ideal interpretation of Max Reger’s piano transcriptions of Bach’s organ works. A winner of the ARD Competition, Schöch delivers performances of remarkable transparency and balance, revealing Bach’s polyphony with new clarity, especially in the D minor Toccata. The 1901 Steinway ‘Manfred Bürki’ piano enhances the late-Romantic sound world. Alongside Reger’s Variations on a Theme by Bach, Op. 81, the album features August Stradal’s piano version of Reger’s Fantasia and Fugue on B-A-C-H, whose complex structure Schöch renders with precision and lightness, uniting technical mastery and expressive insight.

Michael Schöch (b. 1985) studied piano in Innsbruck, Munich, and Salzburg, and organ in Munich. Distinguished for his mastery of both instruments, he gained international prominence after winning first prize in the organ category at the ARD International Music Competition—awarded for the first time in 40 years. His career has brought him to major concert halls and cathedrals across Europe, as well as leading festivals such as the Salzburg Easter Festival and Bayreuth Festival. Schöch has performed with orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Camerata Salzburg, and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. His artistry is captured in numerous recordings and broadcasts, with a discography of 15 CDs featuring works by Reubke, Reger, Brahms, Strauss, and Wagner.

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