FLORENCE MUSTRIC

• Marcel Dupre: Prelude in B major

“Great repertoire beautifully played, beautifully recorded... [the Rudolph von Beckerath organ] is one of the finest in the area, which boasts stiff competition. It would be a terrific instrument for Bach, and it comes through beautifully in the Franck and Dupré. Mustric reins in the sprawl of Franck and delivers beautifully coherent performances. She conquers all of Dupré's technical challenges while keeping the music. The Duprés sound not difficult, but fun. I must also praise the recording itself, to my mind the best, most natural recording of an organ I've heard – not over-reverberant, but what you would hear in a modest-size church.”

Steve Schwartz, ClassicalNet [November 2014]

“Mustric, who seems very humble about her ability both in the material accompanying the disc and on her website, evidently lets her music speak for her. Her musicianship is magnificent and she plays this most difficult music with seeming ease… With all the sound possibilities available from the Beckerath organ, Mustric can play music that approaches the symphonic and she renders these three chorals with panache while exploiting the full tonal resources of this magnificent instrument. The sound is a tiny bit dry but it allows a great deal of clarity and the perception of many details that could get lost in a warmer ambiance.“

Maria Nockin, Fanfare Issue 36:3 [Jan/Feb 2013]

“…Florence Mustric’s unfailing musicality, plus MSR’s typically rich, fulsome recorded sound.”

[ * * * ] Lee Passarella, Audiophile Audition [December 2012]

 

SYMPHONIES SPECTACULAR AND SUBLIME
Nominally a set of three preludes and fugues, Marcel Dupré’s Opus 7 is a virtual symphony. Opus 7 is doubly spectacular: it stretched the boundaries of what was considered technically possible, and at the same time it is magnificent music. César Franck’s Three Chorals are also virtual symphonies. Built around a nucleus choralelike theme, they are Franck’s final legacy: sublime masterpieces that reflect decades of composing and improvising at the organ Franck called his orchestra.


French organs built in the Romantic era have a distinctive sound, but it is possible to translate the music of Franck and Dupré to a wonderful organ built in the German Baroque tradition. Trinity’s Beckerath organ has the rare and winning combination of clarity, power, and warmth. Its versatility makes it superb not only for Baroque masterpieces but also for music of almost every other style and period. My goal in these recordings is to showcase the fabulous qualities of the instrument in some of the most beautiful and imaginative music composed over the past three centuries.

These recordings also document the sound of the Beckerath at its half-century mark, before restoration. After 50 years, the pipes, keyboards, and many other parts need attention. Leathers and other items need replacing. The Beckerath still sounds wonderful despite the need for restoration, a project being completed in early 2012 under the direction of Leonard Berghaus.


RUDOLPH VON BECKERATH ORGAN (1956) - Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Cleveland, Ohio
This historic organ was the first large mechanical-action organ in North America in modern times. It was built in 1956 in Hamburg, Germany, by Rudolph von Beckerath, who crafted it in the tradition of the organs of northern Europe in the Baroque era. With this organ, Beckerath demonstrated that centuries-old techniques of organ-building produce a beautiful sound that is transparent and powerful yet warm. Ideal for Baroque repertoire, this organ also serves music of many other styles and periods. It has inspired more than one generation of builders, organists, and music lovers.


Florence Mustric has a master of music in organ performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a bachelor of arts from Oberlin. In April 1994, to showcase the world-famous Beckerath organ at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cleveland, Ohio, Florence Mustric and Robert Myers, director of music, began Music Near The Market, a series of themed programs presented free every  Wednesday of the year.

Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
OPUS 7: THREE PRELUDES AND FUGUES
Prelude in B major
Fugue in B major
Prelude in F minor
Fugue in F minor
Prelude in G minor
Fugue in G minor

César Franck (1822-1890)
THREE CHORALS
Choral in E major
Choral in B minor
Choral in A minor




MSR Classics