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The Swedish organist, Hans Fagius, got his early organ lessons were with Nils Eriksson and Bengt Berg. His 1974 soloist's diploma from the Stockholm's Royal College of Music was earned under Alf Linder. That same year, he made his public debut in Stockholm. He spent the following year in Paris, doing private study with the famous organist and composer Maurice Duruflé. Important as a starting point for his concert career were prizes at international organ competitions (Leipzig 1972 and Stockholm 1973), which he won while still a student.
Hans Fagius then began giving concerts, travelling to America and Australia, as well as throughout Europe. For many years He became one of the foremost and most active organ recitalists in Sweden. He is also one of the most eminent concert organists in Europe, and has also performed in the USA, Canada, and in Australia. In 2006 he toured Korea and Japan.
Although he has focused more and more on the Baroque, doing his own research into the era, Hans Fagius has an impressive repertoire that spans all epochs, including the Renaissance, Baroque, and Romantic eras, and works by Swedish composers of all eras. Something of a speciality has been a series of concerts with complete works by different composers, such as the complete organ works by J.S. Bach (3 times - early 1980's in Stockholm; in 1996 in Copenhagen; the latest take place during 2007), Dietrich Buxtehude, César Franck, Jehan Alain, Johannes Brahms, Maurice Duruflé and the complete organ symphonies by Louis Vierne.
In 1974 Hans Fagius started collaboration with the Swedish label BIS, which has lasted more than 30 years. His recordings for this label have been cited numerous times as outstanding achievements in the recording industry. These recordings include a complete recording of the organ works of J.S. Bach on 17 CD's (recorded between 1983 and 1989, and has become a standard in the organ recording repertoire), the same composer's Die Kunst der Fuge (BWV 1080), a disc with music by W.A. Mozart, symphonies by C.-M. Widor (2, 3, 6, and 8), a great part of the organ works by Camille Saint-Saëns, two discs with important works by Sigfrid Karg-Elert, the complete organ works by Maurice Duruflé (Critics Choice in Gramophone magazine, December 2003) and recordings with four-hand organ repertoire as well as music for organ and piano. His recording of Franz Liszt's three great organ works won the Grand Prix du Disque Liszt in Budapest 1981. Recent productions include a recording with music by the Danish high Romantic composers J.P.E. Hartmann and Niels Wilhelm Gade (Dacapo) and a CD on the newly restored organ in Leufsta Bruk, Sweden (Musica Redeviva). In addition, he has recorded works by Otto Olsson, the best-known of all Swedish organ composers, the complete organ music of Zoltán Kodály; and several duet albums with artists such as David Sanger, organ; Mats Jansson, piano; Rolf Leanderson, baritone; and Gunilla von Bahr, flute.
Hans Fagius is organ professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, an appointment he began in 1989 after several years as organ teacher at the Colleges of Music in Stockholm and Gothenburg. He is sought after as a teacher for master-classes (in the summer 2002 at the famous organ academy in Haarlem, Holland), and is regularly a jury member at international organ competitions (St. Albans, Odense, Calgary, Dallas, Lahti, Erfurt, Leipzig, etc.). In 1998 he was elected as a member of The Royal Swedish Music Academy. |
