A native of Germany, Felix Hell is a highly sought after organist with a busy world-wide concert schedule. Felix has a very special connection to Saint Peter’s. As a child he came to study in the United States, and was literally at home here. While Felix divides his time between Germany and the United States, maintaining strong ties and a regular concert schedule in both countries, he is excited to return to Saint Peter’s for a very special recital on the transformed Klais / Fisk organ that shaped his earliest of organ playing. Join on Tuesday, February 13, 2023, for this very special concert.

Program

Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 552
Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)

Trois Danses
I. Joies
II. Deuills
III. Luttes
Jehan Alain
(1911-1940)

Retrospection
Florence Price
(1887-1953)

Fantasy and Fugue on “Ad Nos Ad Salutarem Undam”
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886)

About Felix Hell

A native of Germany, Felix Hell is one of the most sought after concert organists in the world. He has been featured as a recitalist and concerto soloist in more than 1000 concerts throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The American Organist raved that he “sets standards that older and honored players would struggle to equal.”

Past venues include Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, the Esplanade in Singapore, Dewan Filharmonik Petronas in Kuala Lumpur, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Great Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, National Center for the Arts Weiwuying in Kaohsiung, National Theatre and Concert Hall in Taipei, as well as Yongsan Art Hall in Seoul. Furthermore, Mr. Hell has performed in the cathedrals of Berlin, Regensburg, Riga, Bogota, Reykyavik, Munich, Ulm, Speyer, Worms, and Passau.

Mr. Hell has been concerto soloist with the Baltimore Symphony, Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra, Busan Philharmonic, McGill Chamber Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, New England Conservatory Orchestra, Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, National Academy Orchestra of Canada, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Pfalztheaterorchester Kaiserslautern, and the Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie.

Felix Hell’s discography now includes 13 CDs, with his latest recording, “Organ Fantasies: Masterworks by Bach, Liszt and Reger,” marking a significant addition to his celebrated body of work. Published in October 2023 by Universal Music Group, this exceptional album was recorded at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts Weiwuying, showcasing the largest Pipe Organ in Asia. The instrument, a grand creation with 127 stops and 9,085 pipes, represents the magnum opus of German organ builder Klais. This album continues Felix Hell’s tradition of exploring the depth and breadth of organ music, bringing both historical reverence and innovative interpretation to the forefront.

His project “Music Across America” allows him to travel with his own Touring Organ, performing organ concertos and recitals in spaces that do not house pipe organs, liberating the instrument from its historic confines.

Felix Hell is known for his diverse and innovative programming, drawing upon a repertoire encompassing five centuries. Furthermore, he has received global recognition for his marathon performances of the entire organ works of J.S. Bach, which encompass about 250 compositions and close to 20 hours of performance time. He has since performed the complete Bach cycle four times, most recently in 2013 in Seoul, Korea.

Mr. Hell is an avid supporter of new music for organ and frequently collaborates with composers.

Felix Hell studied at the Juilliard School in New York, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (BM), the Peabody Institute in Baltimore (AD, MM, DMA). In 2007, he received Johns Hopkins University’s prestigious Outstanding Graduate Award.

For more than 20 years Mr. Hell was Organ Artist Associate at Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan. He is currently Artist in Residence at the United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg. In 2011, Felix Hell was appointed Distinguished Visiting Artist at Kosin University in Busan, South Korea.