ASF IV: Juwel im Marschland

Masaaki Suzuki organ

Programme:
Johann Sebastian Bach: Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV 564; Partita »Christ, der du bist der helle Tag«, BWV 766; Fantasia in G major, BWV 571; Chorale »Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier«, BWV 731; Ciacona in D minor, BWV 1178, and in G minor, BWV 1179, Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542

Born in 1954 to Protestant Christian parents in Kobe, Japan, he began playing the church organ during services at the age of 12. In the West, he mainly became known with the Bach Collegium Japan, an ensemble he founded in 1990, and their award-winning recordings of all of Bach’s cantatas. However, the 2011 Musikfest Prize laureate has also remained faithful to the organ, as evidenced by his ongoing project since 2015 to record Bach’s organ works in their entirety on historical instruments. With its 46 stops and 2,527 pipes, the organ by Dietrich Christoph Gloger in Otterndorf, which was re-inaugurated in October 2024 after extensive restoration, is one of northern Germany’s great Baroque organs. Needless to say, Masaaki Suzuki will make full use of its impressive capacity for vivid registration. With his keen sense for both the big picture and intricate details, his selection of Bach works – including the chaconnes in D minor BWV 1179 and G minor BWV 1180, which have been attributed to the composer after decades of research and were added to the Bach Catalogue of Works in November 2025 – will be a sublime experience in his hands!

in cooperation with the district of Cuxhaven