Günther Kaunzinger (born 10 April 1938) is a German organist and pianist.

Life

Born in Sulzbach, Kaunzinger studied organ, piano, conducting and composition in Nuremberg and Frankfurt (Main), where he also worked as a coach at the

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

. He has won numerous competitions, including in 1966 a third Prize at the ARD Competition. From 1968 to 1974 he studied organ in Paris with

Marie-Claire Alain Marie-Claire Geneviève Alain-Gommier (10 August 1926 – 26 February 2013) was a French organist, scholar and teacher best known for her prolific recording career, with 260 recordings, making her the most-recorded classical organist in the worl ...

Maurice Duruflé Maurice Gustave Duruflé (; 11 January 1902 – 16 June 1986) was a French composer, organist, musicologist, and teacher. Life and career Duruflé was born in Louviers, Eure in 1902. He attended Rouen Cathedral Choir School from 1912 to 1918, ...

and

Jean Guillou Jean Victor Arthur Guillou (18 April 1930 – 26 January 2019) was a French composer, organist, pianist, and pedagogue. Principal Organist at Saint Eustache in Paris, from 1963 to 2015, he was widely known as a composer of instrumental and voca ...

. He developed a reputation as a performer of both French Romanticism and as an improviser. In 1974 he was appointed to the chair of organ at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg and was appointed head of the department of church music. Until 1976, he also led a piano class. In 1976, he was appointed both head of the organ department at the ''

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

'' and "artist in residence" at the ''

National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic minor basilica and national shrine in Washington D.C. It is the largest Catholic church building in North America and is also the tallest habitable building in Wash ...

'' in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He returned to his position in Würzburg in 1978. Kaunzinger recorded more than 50 CDs. In 1980, 1982 and 1988, his recordings were awarded the

Deutscher Schallplattenpreis The Deutscher Schallplattenpreis was a prize that the awarded from 1963 through 1992. Its successor is the Echo Music Prize Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, ) was an accolade by the , an association of recording companies of Germany to rec ...

, for several complete recordings, for example the organ works of

César Franck César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

and

Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death. As a composer, much of his output was Organ (music), organ music, including six ...

. He was awarded many honours, including in 1988 the culture prize of Sulzbach-Rosenberg. In 2001, he was awarded the Order of Merit with Ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany. The dispositions of new organs, which he supervised, are inspired by the tradition of

Aristide Cavaillé-Coll Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (; 4 February 1811 – 13 October 1899) was a French organ builder. He has the reputation of being the most distinguished organ builder of the 19th century. He pioneered innovations in the art and science of organ build ...

. He conceived the organ of the

Stiftsbasilika Waldsassen The Waldsassen Basilica, ''Mariä Himmelfahrt und St. Johannes Evangelist'' (Assumption of Mary and St. John the Evangelist) is the parish church in Waldsassen, Bavaria. It was built in its present form from 1685 to 1704 as part of the Waldsass ...

, built by Georg Jann with 6 manuals and 103 stops. He founded the "Memminger Meisterkurse für Orgelinterpretation" (Memmingen masterclasses for organ interpretation), with an emphasis on French romanticism.Markus Lommer in: 750 Jahre Pfarrgemeinde St. Marien Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Hrsg.: Kath. Pfarrgemeinde St. Marien und Stadt Sulzbach-Rosenberg 2002, ps. 158/159. (in German)

Publications

* Günther Kaunzinger: ''Die Orgeln der Stiftsbasilika Waldsassen''. Kunstverlag Peda, Passau 1989,

References

External links

*
Günther Kaunzinger
website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaunzinger, Gunther German classical organists Organ improvisers German classical pianists German male classical pianists Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg 1938 births Living people Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Saarbrücken (district) 21st-century German classical pianists 21st-century German organists 21st-century German male musicians German male classical organists