This recital has been made possible through the generous support of the Hope College Tom Donia Memorial Organ Fund. The fund was created in 1990 by family and friends of Tom Donia, a 1973 Hope graduate who died in 1990. The Director of Communications for the American Red Cross, Donia had a life-long interest in music.

PROGRAM

Prelude & Fugue in D Major BWV 532 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Danse Macabre Op.40 Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
(transcribed for organ by Edwin Lemare)
Pièce Héroïque César Franck (1822-1890)

Rhapsody Op.7, No.1 Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)

Mephisto Waltz No.1, S.514 Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886)
Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke (The dance in the Village Inn) (transcribed for organ by Raul Prieto Ramirez)

From Suite du premier ton Louis-Nicolas Clerambault (1676-1749)
Basse et dessus de trompette ou de cornet séparé en dialogue
Récits de cromorne et de cornet séparé en dialogue
Dialogue sur les Grands Jeux

Baba-Yaga & The Great Gate of Kiev, from Pictures at an Exhibition Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) /
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
(transcribed for organ by Raul Prieto Ramirez)

Audio or video recording of this recital, using any device, without prior written consent is strictly prohibited.

Raul  Prieto Ramirez

With words such as “sizzling”, iconoclastic”, “impeccable”, and “transcendent” used to describe his performances, Raúl  Prieto Ramírez is the first Spanish organist in recent times to establish himself among the elite of the international pipe organ scene. "The powerful personality, passionate expressiveness, gift for communication, and outstanding technique of Spanish organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez make him shine in a wide range of repertoire and styles". (Los Angeles   Philharmonic)

He is San Diego Civic Organist and Artistic Director of the Spreckels Organ Society, where he presides over the famed Austin organ at the city’s Balboa Park Pavilion – the largest open-air musical instrument in the world. Mr. Ramírez is the eighth Civic Organist to serve San Diego on the Spreckels organ bench.

At age 27, as the first Organist of Spain’s National Concert Hall in Madrid, Mr. Ramírez increased attendance by a multiple of 30 and critics hailed him as one of the most exciting talents in the music scene. He later founded the International Organ Festival/Academy in Barcelona, the Sursa American Organ Competition in partnership with Moscow and served as organ consultant for both religious and civil institutions.

His global schedule takes him to major festivals and concert halls (from the Mariinsky Theater and Moscow House of Music in Russia to organ churches and cathedrals through Europe and the US), performances and lectures for universities and institutions (such as Indiana University, Baylor, Moscow Conservatory, Graz University, and Chapters of the American Guild of Organists), collaborations in summer academies, and as jury member at international competitions.

After studies in Spain where he received the highest distinctions and awards, Mr. Ramírez moved to Stuttgart on a scholarship from the German government to study organ performance with Ludger Lohmann. At the same time, he was developing his technique with pianist Leonid Sintsev at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia. He also worked on interpretation of the different schools of organ literature with Marie-Claire Alain, Guy Bovet, Eric Lebrun, Lionel Rogg, Zsigmond Szathmáry, and Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, and he also intensively studied composition, orchestral conducting, improvisation, and continuo playing. The premieres of his works have been recorded and broadcast in Spain, including chamber music, organ music, many pieces for solo instruments and a concerto for organ and orchestra that was premiered in Barcelona.

As a result of his varied studies, Mr. Prieto Ramírez possesses a wide and deep knowledge of organ repertoire, styles, and schools, from the 14 th century Robertsbridge Codex to the new compositions he commissions. He is respected as a specialist in such disparate subjects as Spanish music, historic keyboard techniques, and modern symphonic transcriptions for the organ. His transcriptions of Liszt’s piano études and Mephisto Waltz have been praised by audience and critics alike in Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Critics have also highly praised his interpretations of the music of Buxtehude, Bach, Franck, and Reger.

His first two compact discs, on the Brilliant Classics label, were recorded at Milan Cathedral in Italy (music of Franck, Liszt, Reger, and Saint-Saëns) and at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona (music for piano and organ duet). In June 2016, Mr. Ramirez and his wife, Spanish pianist Maria Teresa Sierra, were featured duo artists at the American Guild of Organists’ national convention in Houston.

Raúl Prieto Ramírez is represented exclusively in North America by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC.