Pierre Cochereau Improvised Organ Symphony Part 1

The extraordinary Pierre Cochereau improvising a four movement organ symphony on the organ of Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest in 1969. The organ itself has four manuals and pedals and was built the Walcker organ company, I do have a copy of the spec somewhere, but think it is about 100 ranks in size.

This improvisation is unmistakably Cochereau, and ably demonstrates his untouchable talent for creating beautiful and thrilling music from thin air. It also shows that although he loved Notre Dame and its organ, he didn't need to be there for inspiration.

I have filled out the video with pictures of the many architectural wonders of Budapest, a very beautiful city.

This recording comes from a CD I ordered from Hungary about 8 years ago. The CD is from a company called the Aquincum Archive Ltd ACD 1442: Four legendary organists/Four Improvisations. It features Cochereau, Guillou, Melinda Kistetenyi & Xaver Varnus. Kistetenyi is remarkable in her own right, her improvisations were legendary and Stravinsky was an admirer who said she was a greater talent than Bartok and Kodaly put together! Xaver Varnus studied with Cochereau, who stated of his pupil 'Xaver Varnus is an unparalleled phenomenon in the annals of the contemporary organ'.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Pipe
• Organ
• Orgue
• Orgel
• Pierre
• Cochereau
• Improvisation
• Hungary
• Franz
• Liszt
• Academy

[shnimmuc]

This is not great improvisation. Great improvisation is where a organist can take a theme and do a text book fugue on it. Anyone can do this stuff.

[JFSnail]

Great improvisation also comes from an artist taking a theme and doing with it what they will - if the result is a cohesive piece of music, with thought and structure, then they have succeeded. In this case Cochereau could work wonders. He was that rare thing, a true genius.

His teacher Dupré, didn't call Cochereau 'A phenomenon without equal in the 20th century' for nothing...

[chamade16]

My goodness! Where did you get this from? Totally new to me. How many more are still hiding in the archives, I wonder...?

[JFSnail]

I have another two to come....

[yannmontero]

Shnimmuc is a cretin is which has no ears!

[shnimmuc]

leexoc I have perfect pitch, plus taste. Refined taste is a rare gift. I do not like bombast and that is what Cochereau improvises along with hundreds of other organist. Stop the personal attacks you are not Cochereau. Cochereau was a hack.

[leexoc]

@shnimmuc judging by your taste (cummings sax concerto etc.) you have no ear for this music, so of course it all sounds the same to you.

[shnimmuc]

I heard Cochereau improvise many times in person, it was always the same canned stuff.

[shnimmuc]

Cochereau as no genius. I repeat my remarks, there a many, many organist who do this, including a movement of wrong not fuguing. I am talking about someone inprovising in perfect counterpoint fugue on the equal of Bach. A trio sonata with cannonic imatation. What Cochereau does is easily duplicated

[shnimmuc]

And stand by my remarks. There are many organist who do this stuff.

[menschmaschine5]

@shnimmuc Fugues aren't the only viable form of improvisation. Cochereau could do those as well.

[johannuscro]

@shnimmuc If you have such opinion, than you should listen the "part 2" of this improvised simphony - it is a Fuge. :)

[MrCochereau]

This IS GREAT IMPROVISATION. Who is shnimmuc, to critizise such a genius like Cochereau??? Do it yourself better!

Dupré called him a phenomenon without equal, and I doubt, someone is more competent to judge about that...

It's great music!