Werk: Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV543

The organ virtuoso is the undisputed star of an otherwise shaky program of Baroque selections.

The French pianist's approach may be uncomplicated, but crisp articulation, interesting dynamics and a fine sense of shifting moods enliven a recital full of variety.

Hors des frontières opposant traditionnellement français et allemand, Neudeutsche Schule et romantisme plus conservateur, sacré et profane, tonal et modal, l’orgue de Thomas Ospital sonne avec une fougue et une profondeur étonnantes, puisées ici chez un Bach que l’on aura rarement entendu aussi bien articulé.

Paul Jacobs was a brilliant soloist in Copland’s unjustly neglected Symphony for Organ and Orchestra.

The Vienna Philharmonic under Lorin Maazel brought a superb performance of Bruckner’s mighty Eighth Symphony to the penultimate night of the Proms, after a selection of Bach organ works from Klaus Sonnleitner.Clichés abound in writing about Bruckner symphonies. One which cannot be escaped, however, is the necessity for an absolutely solid grasp of long structure.