Max Reger - Variationen und Fuge über ein Originalthema op. 73 - Willem Tanke, organ 

Bravo!!!!

Fantastic performance! The final pedal point of the fugue 'resolving' to B# just before the final cadence always gets me!

0:11 Introduktion 9:00 Thema 11:12 Var. 1 13:11 Var. 2 14:41 Var. 3 15:43 Var. 4 (Promenade) 19:34 Var. 5 [Var. 6 door Reger verwijderd] 21:45 Var. 7 25:33 Var. 8 26:39 Var. 9 27:13 Var. 10 28:35 Var. 11 (Promenade) 31:01 Var. 12 33:05 Var. 13 35:15 Var. 14 (Promenade) 38:15 Fuge

I was privileged to hear this performed last night on the magnificent Lincoln Cathedral organ played by Wolfgang Kleber from Damstadt ,Germany ,performed with great emotion and understanding .A wonderful Evensong sung by the Cathedral Choir prior to the recital made a great evening out and a worthwhile two and a half hour trip to home .

Maestro plays Maestro - for me it's unbelievable to play such a complicated music. I've heard the variations a lot (e.g. interpreted by Martin Haselböck, Austria), but it's always new to explore. God bless you & thank you very much for this great present!

Excellent.

One could see hints of where Sorabji was influenced by other pieces in Reger's output, but this one smacks you in the face with it.

Maxnificent! 38:15 Fugue

Splendid

This recording is by far the best I've ever heard, and, as a student, it gives me inspiration in order to study Max Reger's compositions. I love the tempo you choose, it's extremely well balanced, it allows me to appreciate Reger's composition virtuosism. My warmests congratulations mr Tanke. Francesco Paina

Onvoorstelbaar om dit te horen! Ik heb al moeite het notenbeeld te volgen, maar dan nog het spelen....Grandioos spel, en wat staat het Willibrordusorgel in de Haarlemse kathedraal er prachtig op, ik heb nog nooit zo'n mooie opname van dit instrument gehoord! Alle lof, Willem, voor deze vertolking van dit geniale werk...

Introduktion 0:11 Variationen 9:00 Fuge 38:16

I listened to some of his music due to his 150th birthday. Rather with mixed feelings. There is no doubt that he is a master of polyphonic writing. But there is this strange thought that "more is better", which was a symptom of his time and which you can also observe in Strauss and Schoenberg. This piece is a classic example. 45 minutes of endless meandering. Even the Thema is already so elaborate that any development is pointless. I admire Reger's mastery but I think his esthetic was a misguided phenomenon of hybris, as with Germany causing two world wars. The performance deserves all the praise though.

wow wat een stuk en wat een vertolking van deze lange maar prachtige compositie van Reger. Ik vroeg mij af hoe ik precies de super audio cd zou kunnen kopen? is de audio dan ook in zijn volledige glorie zonder de gekke dingen met het linkerkanaal een paar keer in de opname?

It would be interesting to bring Bach back, give him the same subject of the fugue and see what he would do with it on the same organ.

Could not play this magnificent fugue reading the score. Have to play fromemory. Never bothered to learn the variations. Only three are wortheffort, I recall.

Which organ is this being played on?

31:06 reminds me to a song from Supertramp!

A phenomenal performance! What an incredible journey, thank you. Apologies, Willem, but the CD 'order here' link on your website is broken (accessed from a smart phone, at least).

24:40 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Bach wouldn’t know what to make of this composition in terms of scope and complexity.