Reviews

Baroque from Texas

World-class organist Matthew Wilkinson thrilled at Kloster Metten

Metten. Without wanting to cater to superficial clichés: Upon first meeting Matthew Wilkinson in a casual outfit with suspenders, exuding Southern charm and a friendly disposition, one would sooner expect the Texas-born (sic) artist from Denton to evoke images of guitar-accompanied country songs, inner Easy Rider, or a lonesome cowboy in the audience. Far from it: Matthew Wilkinson, as a soloist this past Sunday, delighted visitors in the abbey church at Metten during one of the traditional and popular “Concerts at Kloster Metten” — neither horse nor bike in sight, “saddle” instead on the organ bench.

The church musician, pianist, and world-class organist is closely connected with Baroque music and has received prestigious awards for his internationally recognized skill and virtuosity. At 22, he became the youngest music director ever at the Anglican Church of St. Michael in Charleston and has embarked on study and concert tours throughout Europe, constantly expanding his musical spectrum.

 

The afternoon performance entertained on the highest level with five church musical pieces, from the King of Baroque Johann Sebastian Bach and Toccata X by the well-traveled, slightly Lower Bavarian-born Baroque musician Georg Muffat. After all, the Savoy-born Muffat was choirmaster to the Bishop of Passau for 14 years until his death in 1604. Wilkinson recalled William Byrd, one of the greatest composers of the English Tudor era, whose work for keyboard instruments — especially the harpsichord and spinet — has not become overly popular, with “Fantasia in C Major.” Finally, the concert organist shone with a piece by the not-so-Baroque Franz Liszt. Liszt, the Hungarian piano prodigy and composer, is musically considered a “Romantic” but in “Fantasy and Fugue” — based on the choral “Ad nos ad salutarem undam” from the opera *Le Prophète* by Giacomo Meyerbeer — he was seen as a genre virtuoso at the peak of classic virtuosity.

The Metten concertgoers enjoyed an exceptional listening experience. Virtuoso composers, virtuosic works, and a virtuosic organist — an outstanding concert afternoon that elicited enthusiastic applause.

—wa

Deggendorfer Zeitung, August 10, 2023

Matthew Wilkinson

Organist, Pianist, Conductor, Arranger, Recording Artist

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