Variations on Silbermann

Variations on Silbermann is a tribute to the new organ inaugurated in 1743 in the chapel of the East Thuringian castle Burgk, a jewel from the late period of Silbermann - and to composers from the 17th and 18th centuries who originated from or worked in Central Germany. Moreover, the cd offers a preview of the Neapolitan Alessandro Scarlatti, whose pioneering work for keyboard instruments is all too often overshadowed by that of his son Domenico Scarlatti. The program presents both variation works from the period in which the Silbermann organ of Burgk was created and the full range of Baroque structural and sound constellations on a single-manual instrument. Daniel Beilschmidt – university organist in Leipzig and castle organist in Altenburg – grew up not far from Schloss Burgk and knows the instrument and its sonic possibilities inside and out. He convinces here with his versatile, virtuosic and emotional interpretation.