Virgil Fox Plays Middleschulte Pedal Solo (video)

[bach-liszt]

Virtuoso organist Virgil Fox play's the Middeschulte pedal solo.  He is the Cziffra of the feet.  At one point he plays a lightening fast ascending chromatic scale in the left foot while playing quick thirds (with the heel and toe) in the right foot.

Here we go:

[pianistimo]

you make me see how unrealistic my dreams are.

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

By "you" do you mean Virgil Fox or "Bach-Liszt"?

[pianistimo]

the video after that of stephen tharp is horrid.  it makes you want to kill yourself.

bach-liszt and virgil fox.  what a character.  and, also, that old composer middleshutz.  now i understand a bit more about him, too.

there's a pretty decent organist who plays at lord and taylors in philly.  when i heard him, i thought, 'someday i want to do that.'  the trouble is that it takes so much concentration for me to do the pedals that i get sidetracked when i add the manuals and change stops.  there's supposed to be a pretty good organist at ursinus college, here.  hmmm.  maybe, just maybe i'll do something crazy this year and take organ lessons again.  i took about 2-3 lessons back in lancaster.  but, then i didn't have an organ to practice on.  now, i do.

[bach-liszt]

Yes, the pedals can be tricky.  I was fortunate to start the organ at a pretty early age.  The pedals is the aspect of playing that sometimes makes or breaks the player.

[pianistimo]

when did you start playing the organ?  was your progression at the organ about the same pace as piano - or does it take much longer, in your opinion, to become proficient?

[bach-liszt]

I started playing in my teens.  I then proceeded with serious lessons and began the laborious pedal scales and other exercises.  There are some folks who can play the organ (some who play the piano and try their hand at it), but to play it well takes quiet a long time.  It is a rather daunting task to play a big recital.  You are concerned about three lines of music, acoustics and registration.  Great organists like Louis Vierne and Virgil Fox were  pretty intelligent.  Fox completed 18 examinations and was the first person at Pebody to be awarded the Artist's Diploma (the school's highest honor) in just one year.