»Rost and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under Gabriel Feltz form a top team that is unfortunately rarely encountered in recordings; conductors and orchestras evidently regard the genre as all too remote. They should reconsider their opinion.«
Friedrich Sprondel, Fono Forum
Biography
Gunther Rost already performed Bach's complete organ works while he was still a school boy. Born 1974 in Würzburg, Germany, he studied with Günther Kaunzinger and Marie-Claire Alain. He has been awarded numerous international music prizes, such as the Leipzig Bach Prize, the Dallas International Organ Competition or the Bavarian state award for the advancement of the arts. Since the age of 24, he has been a university teacher for organ.
In 2002 he was appointed professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Austria, where he also founded the organ research centre, focusing amongst other things on the development of electronic and hybrid mobile concert organs, collaborating with disciplines such as electroacoustics, ergonomics research and computer technology.
In addition, Mr. Rost has acted as jury member in international organ competitions and has taught master classes, e.g. at the Royal Academy of Music London, the Chopin Academy Warsaw, the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory St. Petersburg or the Tchaikovsky Conservatory Moscow.
Gunther Rost is Artistic Director to the annual Festival Orgelfrühling Steiermark. He has contributed significantly towards a greater public awareness of the instrument organ, e. g. by publishing numerous videos on various online platforms.
He is a sought-after guest to festivals and venues such as the Rheingau Music Festival, the Leipzig Bach Festival and Gewandhaus, the Konzerthaus in Berlin and in Vienna, the Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg or the Auditorio Nacional de Música Madrid.
From 2012-2014, he was Organist in Residence with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra.
Solo, chamber music and orchestra recordings for labels like OehmsClassics or Deutsche Grammophon document his versatile artistic work. German, Austrian, Russian and American radio stations have broadcast live recordings of his concerts.
In close cooperation with the composer, Gunther Rost was the first to record Petr Eben’s complete organ works, featuring amongst others the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra for the two great organ concertos.
His discography also comprises solo productions with works by Vivaldi, Chopin, Dupré and Alain. His recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations has been praised as “the most distinctive recording on the market, including harpsichord and piano versions” by Fono Forum, one of the leading German classical review magazines.
Together with the 4D Orchestra founded by Rost in 2018, he released several further recordings of major works by J. S. Bach. G. F. Handel and contemporary composers.
Gunther Rost has worked with artists such as Tine Thing Helseth, Christoph Prégardien or Elīna Garanča. His choir and orchestra collaborations have led him to the Windsbach Boys Choir, the Choir of St. Thomas Church Leipzig, the Bavarian State Radio Choir Munich, the Munich Bach Soloists, the Nuremberg State Philharmonic Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the FOK Prague, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra or the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Videos
Dates
Sep. 28, 2024 – Rome, Sant'Antonio dei Portoghesi
Works by Bach, Franck, Alain and Hanke
>>link
28.02.25 – Nuremberg, Meistersingerhalle
5th Philharmonic Concert with works by Strauss, Hanke, Verdi und Schostakowitsch
World Premiere of SLEEP NO MORE for organ and orchestra by SJ Hanke
Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg
Gunther Rost, organ
GMD Roland Böer, musical direction
>>link
18.06.25 – Leipzig, Ev. Reformierte Kirche
Bachfest Leipzig
J.S. Bach, BWV 828 and 807
>>link
Downloads
Biographies
Gunther Rost (Concert Biography EN, 429 words)
Gunther Rost (Short Biography EN, 243 words)
Gunther Rost (Konzertbiografie DE, 369 Worte)
Gunther Rost (Kurzbiografie DE, 191 Worte)
Photos
credit: Christian Jugwirth
