Martin Schmeding & New Liszt Ferenc Chamber Choir Presented by Liszt Academy

Mors et vita, death and life – this is the motto of the concert by Martin Schmeding and New Liszt Ferenc Chamber Choir. Schmeding is one of Germany’s foremost organists, who has taught in several top-ranking music colleges in his homeland and received the award ‘Teacher of the Year 2017’ out of more than 2000 nominees in 250 institutes. The artist born in 1975 has put together his programme so that the works all revolve around the above topics, seeing one from the other’s perspective – this concept also fits the November period bookended by All Saints’ Day and Advent. The framework is given by requiem compositions, while the work of Zsigmond Szathmáry who is 80 this year, and the pieces based on an Easter hymn by Charles Tournemire, who died 80 years ago, could be symbols of the eternal struggle between life and death. Max Reger’s monumental chorale fantasia is, according to the composer’s own description, a vision in the first part of which the midnight cemetery appears on the day before Judgement Day, while the finale announces the triumph of resurrection.