Raul Prieto Ramirez

Organ

Raul Prieto Ramirez is one of the most exciting talents on the international concert scene at the moment. Still only in his late twenties Raul has been chosen as the Organist-in-residence at Spain’s premier concert hall, the Auditorio Nacional de Musica in Madrid – the home of the Spanish National Orchestra and Choir.

Raul’s special appeal to audiences and critics alike owes much to his thrilling performances, given entirely from memory, which combine dazzling virtuosity with great expressive power.

Raul is passionate about the organ – he sees the instrument as an almost limitless vehicle for his musical expression. Listeners get caught by his infectious enthusiasm, whether it is in one of his hugely enjoyable concert performances or in the popular events which he organises for children and young people.

His annual concert on the largest organ in the Catalonia region of Spain, for example, sees the massive basilica at Mataro (near Barcelona) full to overflowing with over one thousand eager listeners. The great rapport he has with audiences is put to good use in his special ‘Organ Project’ which is now transforming the musical life of Madrid (on the National Concert Hall’s magnificent 4-manual Grenzing instrument) through its innovative mix of concerts, multi-media presentations and audience participation.

Raul Prieto Ramirez is a pioneer in reaching a wider audience through the internet. An army of international supporters continues to be drawn by his highly-popular YouTube performances (his now legendary ‘Danse Macabre’ transcription remains the most viewed non-commercial organ performance on the internet).

Raul’s wide talents have seen him recently take a major acting role at the organ in a feature film directed by Roman Robert.

Raul was first captivated by the sounds of the organ as a young boy growing up in a rural Spanish village. The chance to hear weekly radio programmes of organ music fired his interest but, with only a small 4-octave keyboard at hand, how could he play organ music with pedals? “In my early teens the solution was to make my own transcriptions of the pieces I heard”, recalls Raul. By his early school years he had built a formidable library of his own transcriptions and paraphrases of organ and orchestral music to play. It was not long before he was playing Bach on the historic organs with pedals in the surrounding villages and towns and, from there to ever larger instruments and the music of Liszt, Reger, Dupre and more…

So, his playing career was launched in the major concert halls, cathedrals and festivals throughout Spain – including Barcelona, Granada, Seville, Leon, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela and Gran Canaria, and he went on to receive the highest academic awards from the universities of Salamanca and Barcelona.

Amongst many mentors Raul acknowledges the influence of Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache (whose ideas he encountered at university) and his recent teachers, organ with Ludger Lohmann at Stuttgart and piano with Leonid Sintsev from the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in Saint Petersburg. His understanding of a wide variety of styles has been enriched by master-classes with many of the greatest teachers in Europe, including Marie-Claire Alain, Guy Bovet, Lionel Rogg and L. F. Tagliavini.

The boy who grew up in a rural Spanish village captivated by the sounds of organ music is now entrancing audiences as his country’s leading concert organist from his base at the National Concert Hall in the capital Madrid.

At present Raul’s busy schedule includes concert appearances, solo performances, organising special events and consultancy to organ restoration and new builds. He is releasing two new CD recordings this year also.

Raul Prieto Ramirez is now available internationally for concert performances, tours, special educational projects and audience-friendly organ presentations.