Willibald Guggenmos

Willibald Guggenmos received his first position as organist in his hometown of Dasing, Bavaria (Germany) at the age of 10. He completed his musical studies at the music universities of Augsburg and Munich (concert degrees in piano, organ, master-class degrees, A-exam sacred music and musical education). From 1984 to 2001, he was the organist of St. Martin’s Church in Wangen/Allgäu (Germany), where he directed a richly varied musical programme, including the International Organ Concerts in St. Martin featuring guest organists from around the world, and he also conducted oratorio performances. In 1985, he performed the complete works by J.S. Bach in 11 recitals. In the following years, he interpreted the complete works of César Franck, Léon Boëllmann, Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johannes Brahms, Maurice Duruflé, Johann Gustav Eduard Stehle, in addition to great works for organ composed by Max Reger and Olivier Messiaen. From 2001 to 2004, he served as the organist, sub-conductor, and coordinator of music at Munich Cathedral (Frauenkirche). From 2004 to 2023, Willibald Guggenmos was organist at St. Gallen Cathedral (Switzerland), where he organised and directed the International Cathedral Organ Concerts with great success. Since 2023, he has been the artistic director of the International Organ Festival Augsburg (Germany). As an organist, Willibald Guggenmos has given concerts in nearly all European countries: Iceland, Russia, the United States, South America, Canada, the Far East, Australia, New Zealand, China, and the West Indies. He has also made special appearances at important concert halls such as the Sydney Town Hall, the Liverpool-St. Georges Hall, Philharmonie Essen, Rundfunkhaus Bratislava, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Congress Hall Augsburg, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Stadthalle Heidelberg, Stadthalle Görlitz, Philharmonie Munich, Philharmonie St. Petersburg, Wanamaker’s Philadelphia, Bratislava Philharmonic, Brucknerhaus Linz, Wellington Town Hall (New Zealand), and Hong Kong Cultural Center. He offered special performances in cathedrals such as those of London (St. Paul’s), Paris (Notre Dame), Vienna (St. Stephen’s Cathedral), Trondheim (Nidaros Cathedral), Seville (Cathedral), St. Albans, Dresden (Frauenkirche, Cathedral, Kreuzkirche), Hamburg (St. Michael’s, St. Mary’s Cathedral), Budapest (Matthias Church), Turku, Bordeaux, Orleans, Bratislava, Graz, Copenhagen, Uppsala, Szeged, Lausanne, Geneva, Bern, Basel, Grossmünster Zurich, León, Salamanca, Haarlem, Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp, Zagreb, New York, Washington, San Francisco, Ottawa, Messina, Naples, Como, Aosta, San Sebastián, Palma de Mallorca, Cologne, Bremen, Paderborn, Münster, Würzburg, Regensburg, Passau, Mainz, Speyer, Freiburg, Warsaw, Buenos Aires, Riga, Sydney, Nassau (Bahamas), Barbados, Melbourne, Tromsø, and Reykjavik.  He has participated repeatedly in several festivals, such as in Germany (European Weeks – Passau), Spain (San Sebastián – Quincena Musical), Hungary (Tihany Organ Festival), Austria (Brucknerfest Linz), Italy (Rome – various organ festivals), Finland (Tampere Organ Festival), and Canada (St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal). Critics have praised the colourful nature of his concert programmes and his ‘excellent technique and captivating musicianship’ (Bernhard Holland, chief arts critic at ‘The New York Times’). His long-standing career is documented in a series of recordings for radio, television and CD on important instruments (including the Goll organ of the collegiate church of Engelberg/Switzerland, St. Gallen Cathedral/Switzerland, the Cavaillé-Coll organ of Azcoitia/Spain, and the legendary William Hill organ of Sydney Town Hall/Australia).