Gramophone Magazine
January 2024
Editor's Choice

Thomas Trotter (organ)

Parry: Fantasia and Fugue in G major, Op. 188
Wolstenholme: The Question
Wolstenholme: The Answer
Holst: Jupiter (from The Planets)
Volans: Walking Song
Mendelssohn: Paulus, Op. 36: Overture
Dring: Caribbean Dance
Coates, E: Knightsbridge March from London Suite
Willan: Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue, Op. 149
Karg-Elert: Valse Mignonne Op. 142 No. 2
Laurin: Étude héroïque, Op 38

Thomas Trotter is one of Britain's most widely admired musicians. The excellence of his musicianship is reflected internationally in his musical partnerships. He has performed as soloist with, amongst many others, the conductors Sir Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, and Sir Charles Mackerras. He has performed in all of the world's major concert halls, and has played inaugural concerts and won international instrumentalist awards worldwide.

He received Honorary Doctorates from Birmingham City University in 2003 and from Birmingham University in 2006. In 2020 he was awarded The Queen's Medal for Music. Thomas Trotter was appointed Birmingham City Organist in 1983 in succession to Sir George Thalben-Ball.

This album, recorded in Town Hall, Birmingham, is released to coincide with the 40th anniversary of that appointment. It complements 'Symphony Hall Sorcery' (released in 2022) in celebrating Trotter's consummate artistry over four decades on these two iconic Birmingham instruments. For this new recording Thomas dazzles in a personally-selected programme showing the dynamic and expressive range of the Town Hall organ with major established corner-stones of the Romantic organ repertoire by Parry and Willan, through to recent works by Kevin Volans and Rachel Laurin, and smaller-scale works by Wolstenholme and Karg-Elert. Central to the artistry of the town hall organist is the transcription, and the recording includes a virtuoso example by the master of the craft. W T Best, together with several ones by Thomas himself.

Alongside his regular recitals in Birmingham, Thomas Trotter tours on four continents and plays at many international festivals such as Bath, Salzburg, and the BBC Proms. He is an active recording artist, appearing on the Decca, Hyperion, Regent, King's College, and Chandos labels.

"Wait until the neighbours are out, turn up the volume, give your speakers a thorough workout and yourself a tingle up the spine. Full organ. Blazing magnificence. No one plays this sort of repertoire better than Trotter." - Gramophone Magazine, January 2024