Torsten Laux

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Torsten Laux (* 1965 in Worms ) is a German organist and university professor .

Career

Laux studied church music at the Musikhochschule in Frankfurt am Main up to the A-exam in 1989 (organ with Hans-Joachim Bartsch , improvisation with Reinhardt Menger and Gerd Wachowski) and organ (artistic training with Edgar Krapp ) up to the concert exam in 1992. From 1994 to 1996 Further studies with Daniel Roth (Paris) and Bernhard Haas (Stuttgart) at the Musikhochschule Saarbrücken followed (1994 soloist examination). From 1995 to 1999 he was cantor and organist at the Dankeskirche in Bad Nauheim, and since 1993 he has also been a lecturer in organ improvisation (since 2000 organ literature playing) at theUniversity of Church Music in Bayreuth .

Since 1999 he has been a professor of organ (artistic organ playing and improvisation) at the Robert Schumann University in Düsseldorf.

His concert tours have taken him to France, Belgium, Holland, England, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Romania, the USA and the Far East. Torsten Laux gives master courses and workshops for literary play and improvisation at home and abroad and is a juror at national and international organ competitions.

Together with Herbert H. Ludwig and Andreas Petersen, Torsten Laux founded the Düsseldorf International Organ Festival, which takes place every autumn, in 2006 and has been artistic director since 2011, and has also been the festival's manager since 2011. His compositions include numerous works for organ and sacred music in a wide variety of settings.

In 2010, the aforementioned festival premiered: the Magnificat for big band and organ, five psalms for piano and organ, shalom in the version for trumpet and organ, and 12 psalms for percussion and organ. In 2011 the world premieres of the latest works, including our father for soprano and orchestra, took place on March 27th in Bonn. From May 2nd to May 6th 2012 the Krummhörner Orgelfrühling (the festival of historical organs in Northern Germany, with the anniversary of the oldest playable organ in Northern Europe) took place for the first time under the artistic direction of Torsten Laux.

He has made numerous recordings for compact discs (César Franck: Orgelwerke, Franz Liszt: The three great organ works, "How beautifully the morning star shines", improvisations, etc.), for radio stations (Hessischer Rundfunk, Südwestfunk, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, Belgian Radio, Hungarian Radio, Radio France) and for television (hr, MDR, Arte, France TV 1, Romanian television and Eurovision). Concert tours have taken him to France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Romania, the USA and China.

He received the following prizes at organ competitions: In the 23rd Siegburg Composition Competition , he won first prize. In 2012 he received a 2nd prize (no 1st prize awarded) in the composition competition of the Göttinger Stadtkantorei .

Works (selection)

  • Shalom for orchestra - 2009 Wolfgang G. Haas-Musikverlag Köln e. K.
  • Shalom, LauxWV1a / Trp B / C, (flute / sopr-sax), Org ISMN M-2054-1227-2
  • Shalom, LauxWV1b / Vc (Va), Org ISMN M-2054-1228-9
  • Shalom, LauxWV1c for small and large organs ISMN M-2054-1229-6
  • Ruth for two sopranos, baritone and organ (or piano) - 2011 at ARE Musik VerlagsGmbH, Mainz.
  • 5 psalms for saxophone and organ - 2011 ARE Musik VerlagsGmbH, Mainz.
  • Psalm 130 “From the depths I call to you” - 2012 ARE Musik VerlagsGmbH, Mainz.
  • Psalm 118 for choir and orchestra - 2012 ARE Musik VerlagsGmbH, Mainz.

(As of September 1, 2012)

Web links

credentials

  1. ↑ German National Library
personal data
SURNAME Laux, Torsten
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German organist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Worms