Music of Duruflé, Grieg, Theofanidis, Parker, and more
This concert is presented in memory of Richard Warren, Jr. (1937-2012), curator of the Yale Collection of Historical Sound Recordings (1970-2012), and a cherished colleague and friend
P R O G R A M
Sonata No. 3 in G Major, The Pastoral, Op. 88 | Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901)
Pastorale
Intermezzo and Fugue
Fantaisie in D-flat Major, Op. 101 | Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
THREE COMPOSITIONS BY YALE COMPOSERS
Novelette, Op. 68, No. 3 | Horatio Parker (1863-1919)
Iam sol recedit igneus | Bruce Simonds (1895-1989)
All joy wills eternity | Christopher Theofanidis (b. 1967)
(commissioned by the American Guild of Organists, New Haven chapter, 2014)
From Holberg’s Time: Suite in Antique Style, Op. 40 | Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), transcr. Richard Ellasser
Praeludium: Allegro vivace
Sarabande: Andante
Gavotte: Allegro – Musette (Poco più mosso) – Allegro
Air: Andante religioso
Rigaudon: Allegro con brio
Fugue sur le thème du carillon des heures de la cathédrale de Soissons, Op. 12 | Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)
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Thomas Murray, concert organist and recording artist, is University Organist and professor in the practice of organ performance at Yale University, holding appointments in the School of Music and supported by the Institute of Sacred Music. He is now in his thirty-fifth year on the faculty. At Yale he has taught many leading performers of a younger generation. Widely known for his interpretations of Romantic repertoire and orchestral transcriptions, his recordings (on JAV, Gothic, Arkay, Priory, and other labels) are highly acclaimed.
Born in California in 1943, Murray studied with Clarence Mader at Occidental College. The New York City chapter of the Americah Guild of Organists named him International Artist of the Year in 1986. As the recipient of this award he followed such luminaries as Marie-Claire Alain, Jean Guillou, and Dame Gillian Weir. In 2003 he was named an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Organists in England, and in 2005 was awarded the Gustave Stoeckel Award for excellence in teaching from the Yale School of Music. In 2010 the Organ Historical Society presented him with its Distinguished Service Award for “contributions of the highest order” to the Society.
Prof. Murray has appeared in Japan, South America, and Australia, as well as in most countries of continental Europe. His performances have included recitals for the International Congress of Organists in Cambridge (1987) and the Lahti Organ Festival in Finland, where he was soloist with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Constantin Orbelian. As a soloist in North America he has performed with the Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Houston, and New Haven Symphony Orchestras, as well as the National Chamber Orchestra in Washington, D.C., the Yale Philharmonia, and the Yale Symphony Orchestra. In 2007 Murray performed at a festival inaugurating the new Schuke organ in Magedeburg Cathedral, Germany; he returned to Europe in September of that year to play the inaugural recital on a new instrument in St. Johannes Church in Malmö, Sweden, and the inaugural recital on the Klais organ in the new concert hal (Musikhuset) in Aarhus, Denmark. He is principal organist and artist in residence at Christ Church (Episcopal) in New Haven.