Samuel Kummer
Samuel Kummer | |
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 Kummer at the organ console of the Frauenkiche, 2009 | |
| Born | 27 February 1968 |
| Died | 23 April 2024 (aged 56) |
| Education | State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart |
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| Website | www |
Samuel Kummer (27 February 1968 – 23 April 2024) was a German church organist, from 2005 to 2022 at the Frauenkirche in Dresden. He played concerts internationally and taught at the Hochschule für Kirchenmusik Dresden from 2007.
Life
Samuel Kummer was born in Stuttgart on 27 February 1968.[1] He studied Church music at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart, organ with Christoph Bossert, Werner Jacob and Ludger Lohmann, and specificall organ improvisation with Willibald Bezler, Hans Martin Corrinth and Wolfgang Seifen. He passed his A-Examen in 1997 with an award in organ improvisation.[1]
Kummer played concerts internationally from 1988, in Europe and the Americas. He played in concert series such as European Organ Festival in Maastricht, achieving the first prize of the Concours L'Europe et L'Orgue in 1996, and the International Bach Festival in Warsaw. He gave concerts at the Riga Cathedral, the Philharmonie St. Petersburg and Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. He played several times at the Guatemala Cathedral, where he supported the restoration of the historic Walcker organ of 1937.[1]
He was Bezirkskantor in Kirchheim unter Teck from 1998,[1][2] where he conducted several oratorios including Frank Martin's In terra pax). He installed a concert series, Orgelmusik zur Marktzeit (Organ music at market time).[1]
In 2005, he moved to the Frauenkirche in Dresden, when the destroyed church was reopened after restoration.[1][3] He was dispensed in 2022,[3] with his employer accusing Kummer of unreliability and unpunctuality.[4] He was among the initiators of a concert series, Dresdner Orgelzyklus, at three churches in Dresden, also the Kreuzkirche and the Hofkirche. He played as an organ soloist with Chemnitz Philharmonic in 2007.[1]
From 2007, Kummer was a lecturer for organ improvisation and literature play at the Hochschule für Kirchenmusik Dresden. He recorded a CD with organ music by Bach and Duruflé for Carus to critical acclaim.[1]
Kummer died on 23 April 2024, at the age of 56. According to his family, he collapsed on Dresden Main Station on his way to teaching.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Steffen Giersch, Steffen. "Samuel Kummer". Carus-Verlag (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ Siegfried Bauer (ed.): Tasten-Spiele. Das Klavierbuch zum Evangelischen Gesangbuch. p. 367.
- ^ a b c "Früherer Organist der Dresdner Frauenkirche gestorben" [Former organist of the Dresden Frauenkirche has died]. Sächsische Zeitung (in German). 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ Klempnow, Bernd (21 June 2023). "Dresden: Gericht bestätigt Kündigung des Frauenkirchen-Organisten" [Dresden: Court confirms dismissal of Frauenkirche organist]. Sächsische Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
External links
- Official website
- Samuel Kummer discography at Discogs
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