Petr Eben (* January 22, 1929 in Žamberk; † October
24, 2007 in Prague) is considered to be one of the
Czech Republic‘s leading contemporary composers.
His organ compositions explore new territory in regard
to playing techniques, sound and subject matter.
His goal is to convey a message to listeners, e.g.
through commentaries or – as in his Second Organ
Concerto – by prefixing his scores with a motto. Formal
clarity and understandability are a „must“ for
him. His music is characterized by free tonality that
always includes tonal sections.
Gunther Rost was able to win two prominent guest
musicians for this CD: Tine Ting Helseth (trumpet)
and Babette Haag (percussion).