Martin Welzel (born 11 November 1972, in Vechta) is a German organist, musicologist, and pedagogue.
Biography
Martin Welzel received his first musical training in
Bremen, where Käte van Tricht (a former student of
Karl Straube) was one of his teachers. From 1993 to 2001, he studied
Pipe organ with Daniel Roth and Wolfgang Rübsam,
piano with
Kristin Merscher, and
harpsichord with Gerald Hambitzer at the Hochschule für Musik in Saarbrücken, where he received bachelor's (1997) and master's degrees (1999) in sacred music and organ performance (1999, with distinction), as well as an
Artist diploma in organ performance (2001). Later, he studied organ and harpsichord with
Carole Terry at the University of Washington in
Seattle and graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 2005. During his graduate studies, he was the recipient of an Ambassadorial Scholarship from the Rotary Foundation. In 2006–2007, he was acting professor of organ at the Hochschule für Musik in Saarbrücken and lecturer of piano accompaniment at Ludwig Maximilian University in
Munich from 2017–2021.
[ Biography on www.martinwelzel.ch. Accessed November 8, 2025.] From 2013 to 2021, he was assistant organist at Theatine Church and Munich Cathedral, and from 2021 to 2022, associate organist at Munich Cathedral.
[
]
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Vita on www.muenchner-dommusik.de. (Webarchive, November 22, 2021). Accessed November 8, 2025.[ Biography on www.martinwelzel.ch. Accessed November 8, 2025.] As a concert artist, he has played throughout
Europe, in
Russia,
South Africa, and the
United States, and has recorded organ works by
Max Reger at
Trier Cathedral for
Naxos Records.
[ Artist bio and list of recordings on the Naxos Website. Accessed November 8, 2025.] In 2023, he was appointed principal organist at the Catholic Parish in
Wil (
Switzerland), where he is also artistic director of the organ concert series "toccatawil."
[ "Herzlich Willkommen, Martin Welzel" (article in German), in Pfarrblatt Impuls Juli/August 2023 of the Katholische Kirchgemeinde Wil, p. 16. Accessed November 8, 2025.][ "Sommerorgel mit Wechsel in der Leitung," online article (in German) on www.wil24.ch from August 20, 2023. Accessed November 8, 2025.][ Welcome Concert of Martin Welzel, Stadtkirche St. Nikolaus, Wil (October 29, 2023). Accessed November 8, 2025.][ www.toccatawil.ch (in German). Accessed November 8, 2025.] He teaches organ performance and improvisation at the in St. Gallen, where he is department chair of organ.
[ Diözesane Kirchenmusikschule St. Gallen (dkms, in German). Accessed November 8, 2025.]
Discography
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Max Reger: Organ Works, Vol. 6. Chorale Fantasia on "Alle Menschen müssen sterben," op. 52, no. 1. Six Trios, op. 47. Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme, op. 73. Naxos Records (2005).
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Max Reger: Organ Works, Vol. 8. Chorale Fantasia on "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott," op. 27. Twelve Pieces, op. 80, nos. 7 and 8. 30 Little Chorale Preludes, op. 135a, nos. 11–30. Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor (from op. 82, Vol. IV). Romance in A minor, WoO IV/11. Introduction and Passacaglia in D minor, WoO IV/6. Naxos Records (2008).
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Max Reger: Organ Works, Vol. 10. Prelude and Fugue in E minor, op. 85, no. 4. 52 Easy Chorale Preludes, op. 67, nos. 39–52. Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp minor, WoO IV/15. Chorale Fantasia on "Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele," op. 30. Naxos Records (2010).
Bibliography
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Jeanne Demessieux (1921–1968): a critical examination of her life (Publication No. 3178169) (DMA Dissertation, University of Washington, 2005). ProQuest.
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Petr Eben. Das Orgelwerk. Musik & Ästhetik 13, no. 50 (2009): 109–112.
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Organist an Notre-Dame de Paris. Eine Erinnerung an Pierre Cochereau (1924–84) – zum 90. Geburtstag und 30. Todestag. Organ – Journal für die Orgel 17, no. 4 (2014): 42–45.
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Pierre Cochereau. Eine Würdigung zum 100. Geburtstag und 40. Todestag. Musica sacra 144, no. 5 (2024): 296–297.
See also
External links
