Erscheinung (2007)

Axel Ruoff (b. 1957) — Erscheinung (2007) for organ

While most of Ruoff’s organ music is dramatic and very active (especially his series of toccatas and his two organ symphonies), “Erscheinung” (2007) is very tranquil and still throughout. The title is the German word for “appearance”—in the sense of an apparition, vision, or phantasm.

German composer Axel Ruoff (b. 1957) was born in Stuttgart and was educated there and in Kassel. He teachers included Milko Kelemen, Rolf Hempel, Diego Feinstein, and Erhard Karkoschka. He pursued graduate work from 1985 to 1988 in Japan at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music Arts where he studied with Hiraoki Minami and Isang Yun. From 1983 to 1985, Ruoff taught at the Trossingen Hochschule für Musik, and in 1992 he became a professor at the Staatlichen Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart, retiring in 2020. In addition to his professorship, he also served as Associate Dean (2006–10) and Dean of Studies (2010–14). As a composer, Ruoff has written in many genres, including opera, orchestra music, chamber/solo music, and vocal/choral music. While not an organist himself, Ruoff has employed the instrument prominently in his output—in solo works, choral works, chamber music, and two concertante pieces for organ and orchestra.

Published by Strube Verlag