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E. Power Biggs, Concert Organist

by Barbara Owen

E. Power Biggs was one of the most influential figures in the American musical world during the middle decades of the twentieth century. As a popular radio performer in the 1940s and 1950s, a renowned recitalist, and a prolific recording artist, he stood for the best in organ music and the best in instruments.


Biggs played everything from Buxtehude, Bach, and Handel to Hindemith, Scott Joplin, and Ives; and he experimented with such diverse media as the pedal harpsichord and the latest in quadraphonic sound recording. He encouraged American composers to write new works for the organ, which he performed regularly on the radio and at his recitals in the United States as well as abroad.


Biggs eschewed electronic instruments and did everything he could to encourage churches and concert halls to acquire instruments by the best builders. He was one of the pioneers in the return to smaller, tracker-action organs for the performance of the Baroque and Classical literature. In his search for authenticity, he recorded the music of Frescobaldi, Soler, Sweelinck, and Bach, among others, on the instruments they had actually played.


Although E. Power Biggs was born in England, he dedicated himself to his adopted country. He attracted a devoted following, achieved great fame, and revolutionized the organ world.

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Table of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • Dedication
  • Contents
  • Preface
  • 1 Jimmy Biggs
  • 2 The Cambrian Tour
  • 3 Newport
  • 4 Building a Concert Career
  • 5 The Germanic Museum Organ
  • 6 Champion of New Music
  • 7 Red Seal Recording Artist
  • 8 On the Air
  • 9 Concert Hall Organs
  • 10 Exclusive Artist for Columbia
  • 11 A Portable Organ and a Glass Armonica
  • 12 Europe
  • 13 A New Organ for the Museum
  • 14 Americana
  • 15 Europe Revisited
  • 16 Organ and Orchestra
  • 17 The Pedal Harpsichord
  • 18 Historic Organs and a Grammy
  • 19 Bach and Handel
  • 20 The Compleat Record Man
  • 21 Elder Statesman
  • 22 The Measure of a Musician
  • Appendix A. The Biggs Instruments
  • Appendix B. E. Power Biggs Music Editions
  • Appendix C. E.Power Biggs Discography, compiled by Andrew Kazdin
  • Bibliography
  • Index

Metadata

  • isbn
    978-0-253-05558-3
  • publisher
    Indiana University Press
  • publisher place
    Bloomington, Indiana USA
  • restrictions
    CC-BY-NC-ND
  • rights
    Copyright © Trustees of Indiana University
  • rights holder
    Indiana University Press
  • rights territory
    World
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