Martin Welzel

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 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 LMU Munich in Munich from 2017 to 2021. From 2013 to 2021, he was an assistant organist at Theatine Church and Munich Cathedral, and from 2021 to 2022, associate organist at Munich Cathedral. 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. 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." He teaches organ performance and improvisation at the Diözesane Kirchenmusikschule in St. Gallen, where he is department chair of organ.

Discography 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). 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). 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).