Organ Works

"Dazzling moments in this hour's worth of music, and all of it suits Michael Murray down to the ground."
(Stereo Review)

American-born Michael Murray, whose recordings for Telarc are among the classical music industry's worldwide best sellers, received his principal training in Paris in private study with Marcel Dupre, following preliminary studies at Butler University and at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. One of the first major events of Mr. Murray's concert career was his performance of the complete organ works of J.S. Bach in a series of 12 recitals in Cleveland during the 1968-69 season. In 1972, he performed the complete organ works of Cesar Franck (and again in New York in 1990 for the Franck Centenary) and made his European debut with an all-Bach recital on the historic Galtus and Garmer van Hagerbeer organ (1642) at Leiden University.

He has since appeared as a recitalist in such other musical centers as Berlin ("A Master in the grand tradition" - Berliner Morgenpost), Milan ("A mature artist who uses the medium of sound with singular intuition and unparalleled sensitivity" - Il Gior-no), Beirut ("transcendent techniques" - La Revue de Liban), Vienna, Bern, Amsterdam and Paris, as well as Tokyo and the Far East.

Mr. Murray has performed in nearly every major city in North America, with frequent repeat engagements in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago in particular. He has performed at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, Symphony Hall in Atlanta, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and Orchestra Hall in Chicago. He has appeared as soloist with many major orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Columbus Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic. Frequently invited to give recitals for the dedication of new pipe organs, he gave the first performances with orchestra on the Casavant organ at the Naples Philharmonic Center in Florida in November 1990 and performed the inaugural concerts of the new Fisk organ in Meyerson Symphonic Center with the Dallas Symphony in September 1992.

Michael Murray made his New York debut in 1986. Of his performance The New York Timessaid, "A splendid musician balanc-ing matters of detail with lyrical line, brilliance of registration with sobriety, and careful pacing and natural intensity-all with unusual intelligence and feeling." Reviews of his many recordings for Telarc echo that judgment. High Fidelity: "Murray offers a combination, rarely found anywhere, of dazzling technique, seriousness of purpose, and&133;real understanding." Audio: "He is definitely for us, we who listen to music first and organ fingerwork second." Gramophone: "Here is playing of great skill, artistry, and above all, integrity."

His Telarc recordings have often featured instruments of worldwide repute, including the organs of St. Bavo's in Haarlem, St. Michael's in Zvolle, St. Sernin in Toulouse, St. Ouen in Rouen, Grace Cathdral in San Francisco, Salisbury Cathdral, and the Royal Albert Hall.

Mr. Murray has written dozens of articles of criticism and biography and has published three books. He is the author of Marcel Dupré: The Work of a Master Organist (Boston, 1985) now in its third printing, and translated into German and French. It is the first comprehensive treatment of the life of the great French composer and organist. He has also completed a book on the musical life of Albert Schweitzer, and his French Masters of the Organ, published by Yale University Press in 1999, was called "an excellent book, a joy to read," by the Times Literary Supplement.

Having a lifelong interest in broadcasting, Mr. Murray produced and hosted a syndicated series of radio programs with such renowned guests as Nadia Boulanger, Aaron Copland, Eugene Ormandy, Pierre Boulez, Robert Casadesus, Olivier Messiaen, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore, Rex Stout, Jacques Barzun, Ruth Laredo and John Browning. His conversations with distinguished writers and musicians, as well as his concerts and recitals, have been broadcast on hundreds of stations nationwide.