Wolfgang Baumgratz (born 10 October 1948) is a German organist and academic teacher. He is the organist of the

Bremer Dom Bremen Cathedral (german: Bremer Dom or St. Petri Dom zu Bremen), dedicated to St. Peter, is a church situated in the market square in the center of Bremen. The cathedral belongs to the Bremian Evangelical Church, a member of the Protestant umbre ...

, and professor of organ at the

Hochschule für Künste Bremen The University of the Arts Bremen (German: Hochschule für Künste Bremen, HfK Bremen) is a public university in Bremen, Germany. It is one of the most successful arts institutions, and its origins date back to 1873. The University of the Arts Br ...

. He has toured in Europe as a concert organist and made recordings. He was president of the international association Gesellschaft der Orgelfreunde from 1998 to 2013.

Life

Born in Meersburg, Baumgratz received his musical training in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and Freiburg im Breisgau, where he studied with Ludwig Doerr. He passed the A-examination in Protestant church music in 1976 and worked as

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

at the Johanneskirche in

Merzhausen Merzhausen is a town in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geography Location The northern and eastern part of Merzhausen is attached to the town of Freiburg im Breisgau. To the south, Merzhausen ...

from 1971 to 1976. He completed two years of organ studies on a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

from the

Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst The German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD (german: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), was founded in 1925 and is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation. Organisation ''DAAD'' is a ...

(DAAD), studying in Amsterdam with Albert de Klerk. In 1978, he completed the soloist's examination in organ. In 1979, Baumgratz was appointed as successor of Zsigmond Szathmáry as organist at the

. One year later he received an organ teacher position at the

(HfK Bremen), and in 1984, he was appointed professor of organ there. Five years later he was appointed head of the HfK Bremen church music department. Since 1982, he has been the organ expert of the Bremen Protestant Church. In 1990, he became Vice President of the international e. V. (GdO). He was the association's president from 1998 to 2013.Funktionsträger in der Geschichte der GdO
(in German) gdo.de When he retired in 2014, Baumgratz took over an organist position at the Protestant St. Remberti congregation in Bremen (in addition to being a full-time church musician), whose Fischer+Krämer organ (1993/94) he had helped design. His concert tours as an organist have taken him through many European countries, and he has made numerous recordings.

Recordings

* ''Werke für Orgel und Violine, Gitarre, Flöte, Englischhorn'' by Claus Kühnl u. a. * ''Werke von Bach und Händel in romantischen Orgelbearbeitungen'' (''Die Sauer-Orgel im Bremer Dom'') * ''Orgellandschaft Schleswig/Sonderjylland'' * ''Romantische Orgeln in Holstein'' * ''Schnitger-Orgel Grasberg'', works by

Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer __NOTOC__ ) , baptised = ( cs, }), Royal Bohemia, Austria , death_date = , death_place = Rastatt, Margravial Baden , occupations = organist, composer, , flourished = , era = Baroque , known_for = bringing many French elements throug ...

* ''Das Orgelwerk von Wilhelm Friedemann Bach'' * ''Orgellandschaft Holstein/Lübeck'' * ''Orgelmusik von Komponistinnen'' (Sauer organ at the Bremer Dom, works by Schumann, Andree and Chaminade) * ''Orgelwerke von Georg Philipp Telemann'' * ''Orgelmusik der Bachfamilie'' * ''Silbermann Orgel'' Vol. 6, works by Schneider, Bestel and Homilius * ''Joseph Rheinberger Orgelwerke'', Vol. 7, Sauer organ at the Bremer Domn * ''Inventionen & Sinfonien von Johann Sebastian Bach'' * ''J. S. Bach, 6 Triosonaten'' * ''Orgelmusik von Albert De Klerk'' * ''Orgelkonzert im Dom zu Bremen – Kompositionen über das Te Deum''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baumgratz, Wolfgang German classical organists German music educators 1948 births Living people Musicians from Baden-Württemberg