Walther R. Schuster

Walther Schuster is a redirect to this article. For other people see Walter Schuster .

Walther R. Schuster (born November 17, 1930 in Eger ; † April 30, 1992 in Passau ) was a German organist and composer . From 1952 to 1992 he worked as a cathedral organist on the cathedral organ of Passau Cathedral , which was then the largest church organ in the world.

Life

Schuster was born in Eger, today's Cheb , as the son of the then city church music director. From 1948 to 1950 he studied at the Academy for Catholic Church Music in Regensburg (organ with Franz Xaver Lehner, piano with O. Sigmund, Gregorian chant and conducting with Ferdinand Haberl , counterpoint with N. Stannek). From 1950 to 1952 he was organist at the St. Moritz Church (Ingolstadt) . From 1951 he studied church music again at the University of Music and Theater in Munich . In his main subject, organ, he was taught by Karl Richter , a student of Karl Straube , in counterpoint by Karl Höller , piano with Fritz Linden.

While still a student, he was appointed as cathedral organist at the Passau cathedral organ in 1952 - outside of the actual appointment process - after the winner of the actual selection game, Franz Lehrndorfer, had canceled. Schuster was a member of the Innviertel artists' guild . In 1959 he married the soprano Hedy Bogner, who died suddenly in 1969. She left behind the daughter Gaby to Schuster. In 1972 Schuster married the secretary Maria Beer. In addition to the liturgical organ play, Schuster had to play daily half-hour organ concerts for tourists during the summer, for which he had put together over 70 concert programs.

When the organ was to be rebuilt from 1975 onwards as part of the cathedral renovation, Schuster initially proposed a 70- stop main organ, the reconstruction of the late Gothic pillar organs, the mechanization of the choir organ and the dismantling of the distant organ. Since the organ would have lost its status as the largest church organ in the world, Schuster had to bow to stronger interests.

In 1992, he asked for early release from service. He was succeeded on March 1st by Hans Leitner , a student of his former competitor Franz Lehrndorfer . He died of acute circulatory failure just a few weeks later on April 30th in Passau. He is buried in the Innstadtfriedhof.

Works

• Prelude super 'O Sanctissima' (1946)
• Prelude, chorale prelude and ciacona on the chorale 'Now praise God in the high throne' (1948)
• Organ partita on an old Eger Marian song - "Ave Maria zart" (1951)
• Toccata, Largo and Fugue on the Tonus peregrinus (1951)
• O sadness, o heartache (1952)
• Magnificat anima mea Dominum. 4-6-part mixed a-cappella choir (1955-1956)
• S. Stephani Protomartyris Organo (1956)
• Dominica Resurrectionis (April 1957)
• Postlude (Toccatina) (1958)
• German funeral mass (1968)

Awards and honors

• 1975: Sudeten German Culture Prize
• 1975: OBAG culture award
• 1978: Cultural letter of honor from the city of Passau

Discography

• The largest church organ in the world in the High Cathedral in Passau. 1984, Motet 10601, CD (works by Muffat, Reger, improvisations).

literature

• Heinz-Walter Schmitz : Subtle and heartbroken. Memories of cathedral organist Walther R. Schuster . In: Passauer Almanach 2006/07 . Passau, S. 95-105 .
• Paulus Blum: Walther R. Schuster (1930–1992) . In: Alfred Reichling (Ed.): Organista et Homo Doctus. Festschrift for Rudolf Walter's 90th birthday . Butz Musikverlag, Sankt Augustin 2008, ISBN 978-3-928412-06-3 , p. 95-105 .

Web links

• Works by and about Walther R. Schuster in the catalog of the German National Library

predecessor	Office	successor
Max Tremmel	Organist at the Passau cathedral organ 1952 - 1992	Hans Leitner