Karg-Elert Days
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From October 16 to 18, 2026, we cordially invite you to the Karg-Elert Days in Hamburg. The work of composer Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877–1933) lies at the intersection of rich, sonorous Impressionism, the late Romantic tradition, and the musical upheavals of the early 20th century. Our three-day program combines scholarly exploration with a diverse range of concerts. We very much look forward to inspiring encounters, moving music, and professional exchange with you in Hamburg, the city of organs!
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Seminar: Impressionism in Karg-Elert’s Work
9:00 a.m. | HfMT Hamburg (Organ Studio)
The introductory lecture will explore the Impressionist influences on Karg-Elert’s compositional work as well as their practical application in style-bound improvisation. In the second part, attendees will have the opportunity to attempt an organ improvisation inspired by the parameters discussed earlier.
Musical Midday Service with Magne Draagen
12:00 p.m. | St. Michaelis Main Church
Musical Midday Service featuring music by Karg-Elert; Magne Draagen, organ
Demonstration of the Jahnn Organ
3:00 p.m. | Evangelical Lutheran Ansgarkirche Langenhorn
KMD Julia Götting, organ demonstration
Lecture: “Hans Henny Jahnn and the Romantic Organ—A Search for Traces”
3:45 p.m. | Evangelical Lutheran Ansgarkirche, Langenhorn
Hans Henny Jahnn is one of the most colorful figures on the path to the organ movement. Universally gifted and with wide-ranging interests, he consciously sought to position himself outside bourgeois society. Before the two world wars, he fled into exile in the Nordic countries; artistically, he was closely aligned with Expressionism. But when he and Günther Ramin co-hosted the “Hamburg-Lübeck Organists’ Conference” in 1925, he placed himself at the forefront of a movement that consistently looked to the past and would later go down in history as the “Organ Movement.” This lecture explores Jahnn’s ideas on organ building and the discussions surrounding the restoration of the Jacobi Organ in Hamburg: Although the focus is primarily on the merits of organ art grounded in Vorbach’s ideals and centered on craftsmanship, the discussions soon turn to the question of how one might appropriately perform the organ works of Max Reger—who had died just nine years earlier—on organs built according to Jahnn’s principles.
General Meeting 5:00 p.m. | Evangelical Lutheran Ansgar Church, Langenhorn
Karg-Elert-Gesellschaft e. V., guests welcome
Organ Concert by the Organ Classes of the HfMT
7:00 p.m. | St. Johannis Harvestehude
Students from the organ classes of Prof. Di Dedda, Prof. Gregorius, and Prof. Zerer at the HfMT Hamburg
Eintritt frei
In cooperation with Karg-Elert-Gesellschaft e.V. and Orgelstadt Hamburg
Event Schedule
October 16, 2026, 7:00 p.m.
October 17, 2026, 9:00 a.m.
October 18, 2026, 10:00 a.m.