Klaus KUCHLING

Austrian organist and conductor Klaus Kuchling (St. Veit an der Glan, Austria, 1963) studied organ and church music in Vienna (P. Planyavsky and A. Mitterhofer). He has been teaching organ at the Conservatory in Klagenfurt (Austria) since 1991. From 1992, he acts as the Domorganist at the Klagenfurt’s cathedral. From 1998 to 2012 he taught at Vienna University of Music and Performing arts. He performs as a soloist throughout Europe and serves as a jury member in international organ competitions. He has established a regular series of organ solo and chamber music concerts in Klagenfurt. His broad repertoire includes a spectrum from baroque to contemporary music.

Within 2 years, between 2017 and 2019, he played all of J. S. Bach’s organ works in a series of 22 concerts performing on different organs in Carinthia. Apart from Bach, his recitals show affection towards romantic and modern French organ music. Thus, in 2017, after performing Poulenc’s and Hanson’s concertos, he premiered P. Planyavsky’s Organ Concerto.

Kuchling regularly performs with a number of artists (B. Fink, C. Horak, F. Kircher, F. Berner, S. Arnold). His friendship and musical collaboration with Austrian saxophonist Hannes Kawrza inspired several contemporary Austrian composers for collaboration (P. Planyavsky, K. Asatrian, R. Bargad, M. Wasserfaller). In addition to chamber music, Kuchling is specifically interested in interdisciplinary art projects that, for example, combine organ music and dance performance. As a conductor, he led a wide range of choir and orchestra concerts, most recently Bach’s St. Matthew Passion on period instruments and the premiere of M. Kerer’s Wassermusik at the opening event of the festival Carinthischer Sommer 2018.