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Artis WodehouseA Grand 19th Century instrument: Mason & Hamlin's Liszt Organ.

At the middle of the 19th Century, the US Mason & Hamlin Company developed a grand, complex, pump organ to compete with a formidable rival that had arisen in Europe, the European harmonium. Called the Liszt Organ, this new instrument featured over 15 stops -- like the pipe organ -- that offered a variety of contrasting tonal colors. Wodehouse will play selections for the Liszt Organ that were specifically fashioned to exploit the richness and complexity of the American-designed instrument.

Pianist, harmoniumist and pianolist Artis Wodehouse has devoted her career to reclaiming music and instruments from the past and to performing new and neglected music. The New York Times has cited her as a “savior of the old and neglected”. She has brought forgotten music back to life by such masters for the harmonium as Arthur Bird,Theodore Dubois and Eugene Gigout, and Americans George Gershwin and Jelly Roll Morton. She has recorded and produced scores for Nonesuch, Pearl, Warner Classics, Raven CDs, Alfred and Hal Leonard, and developed a unique collection of restored antique keyboards on which she actively performs.

Artis Wodehouse, keyboardist
1887 Mason & Hamlin Liszt Organ

1:15 - 2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

The Chapel at St. Bartholomew's Church
50th St. and Park Avenue

 

GEMS is a non-profit corporation that supports and promotes the artists and organizations in New York devoted to early music — playing repertoire from the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical periods.