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The German organist, Martin Schmeding, studied church music, music education, recorder and organ (concert examination), conducting, harpsichord, and music theory in Hannover, Amsterdam and Düsseldorf. Among his teachers were Ulrich Bremsteller, Lajos Rovátkay, Hans van Nieuwkoop, Jacques van Oortmerssen, and Jean Boyer. During his studies, he was helped by a scholarship from the fund of the German people.
After receiving eight first prizes in the federal competition for young musicians, Martin Schmeding was a prizewinner in many competitions, among them the Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Berlin, the Pachelbel in Nuremberg, the Ritter in Magdeburg, the Böhm in Lüneburg, the school competition in Hannover/Mannheim, the German music competition in Berlin, the European competition for young organists in Ljubljana, and the Musica antiqua in Bruges. He was a finalist in the ARD competition in Munich in 1999. In addition, he has received many grants and scholarships. He was awarded a cultural grant from the state of Lower Saxony in 1999. He was Kantor and organist of the Nazareth Church in Hannover from 1997 until 1999, when he was appointed as the successor of Oskar Gottlieb Blarr at the Neander Church in Düsseldorf.
As titular organist at the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, Martin Schmeding worked from 2002 until 2004 in one of the most important centres for church music in Germany. After holding teaching posts in Hannover, Lüneburg, Weimar, and Dresden, he has taught as professor of organ at the Music School in Freiburg as the successor of Zsigmond Szathmáry since the autumn of 2004, where he is also the chair of the church-music department. He has given concerts as a soloist, chamber musician and with orchestras in Germany and abroad, including at important festivals such as the Bachfest Leipzig, Chamber-Music Platform in Brunswick, Organ Days in Merseburg, Music Days of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, and Schleswig-Holstein Festival. He is also active as a guest-lecturer at master-classes at home and elsewhere and engagements as a juror at competitions, conductor and composer complete his artistic career.
Martin Schmeding has made numerous radio and CD recordings, among them the complete organ music of Franz Schmidt, Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn, and G. Becker, as well as the first recordings on a period instrument of music for pedal piano by Robert Schumann and of the organ version of the Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) by J.S. Bach. He has written for many publications. In 2009, his SACD recording of “Tilo Medek: Orgelwerke” on Cybele Records was awarded the Prize of the German Record Critics. |
