Gunnar Idenstam

Like Bach, Max Reger left behind him a great deal of music for organ – more than a hundred pieces in twenty-eight opuses. Most of these works were written in the period from 1898 to 1901 in Weiden. After suffering a nervous breakdown, the composer moved back into his parents' house and remained there for several years before departing for Munich where he subsequently continued his career as a composer and performer to great acclaim.
The major cycle of Twelve Pieces for Organ, Op. 59, was composed in two weeks in June 1901. The pieces in the cycle are frequently performed individually. Possibly several of them (Benedictus, Kyrie, Gloria and Te Deum) were intended to be performed during mass while others may have been meant purely for concert performance.
The Toccata (No 5) is a typical example of Reger's flowery style – marked by the influence of Liszt but also retaining references to Bach. In the central movement the composer introduces a meditative chorale which shades the energy of the outer sections. The impassioned intermezzo (No 3) also contains a mystical chorale at its core. The four-voice fugue (No 6) begins with a theme that reminds us of the theme from the Fugue in C Major from the first volume of The Well-Tempered Clavier. One particular characteristic of Reger's fugue is the constant and smooth increase in tempo.
Yekaterina Yusupova