Most visitors to this site are avid and seasoned music lovers. Drawn by the high quality, they still find much here to suit their discerning tastes. However, as we know, the heyday of Super Audio in Surround is now gradually facing its inevitable demise, as more and more labels, driven by economic motives, seek their fortunes in commercially operated download and streaming platforms that cater to the masses.

To our satisfaction, MDG continues to uphold their promise of providing the best. Not solely by producing more of the same profitable core repertoire, but by focusing on unusual or neglected scores and composers. Every new release deserves our close attention, like this one: “Max Reger Inspired by Johan Sebastian Bach”. Both familiar, but the result is indeed inspiring!

Reger’s piano arrangement of the ever-popular Toccata and Fugue is sensational in Michal Schöch’s interpretation and – not to forget – MDG’s intentional engineering. Even considering that I do not have their famous 2+2+2 setup. The piano sounds like an organ in a spacious church environment, thanks to Schöch’s skilful pedal handling and fabulous technique. It works in stereo, but in surround, the listening experience is simply breathtaking.

Reger was a prominent organist, and another inventive element of this release is the piano version of his organ Fantasy and Fugue on B.A.C.H., arranged by the Czech piano virtuoso August Stradal. The liner notes do not provide much information about him, but Google tells me that he was a prolific arranger of works by Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms, most likely for his personal use. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos must have been a tour de force, like Mozart’s 40th Symphony. But then again, Stradal was also a pupil of Franz Liszt’s, the spiritual father of the brilliant arrangements of Beethoven's Symphonies for the piano.

The arrangement is not as fluid as Reger’s, as it was most probably intended to highlight Stradal’s virtuosity. It is a challenge for many to perform, but not for the (relatively) young Austrian pianist, Michael Schöch, outside his homeland and its surroundings, most likely for most a discovery. The liner notes provide us with a revealing résumé, notably that he is equally at home with the piano as well as the church organ, and performs both “to the same high standard”, to which the listener, at least regarding the piano, will have no difficulty agreeing.

Needless to say, I also enjoyed the rest of the programme immensely. It makes clear that Busoni is not the only one able to successfully transcribe Bach’s organ oeuvre. Moreover, comparing him with Reger, one must agree that the latter is not only different but, in some instances, even more rewarding. This release is a real treasure!

Blangy-le-Château, Normandy, France.

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