Fernando Germani

Fernando Germani (Rome, 1906 – Rome, 1998) was one of the most distinguished Italian organists of the twentieth century, known above all for his career as an itinerant soloist and for his interpretations of Bach, Franck and Reger.

Born in the Italian capital, he entered the Conservatory of Rome at the age of eight, where he studied piano, theory and composition, but his only organ teacher was Raffaele Manari.

In 1921 he joined the Augusteo Orchestra as its organist, and shortly afterwards began a virtuoso career that took him to the United States at the age of twenty-one. From 1932 he taught at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana and, in 1934, at the Conservatory of Rome. In 1936 he spent two years directing the organ department of the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. From 1932 he visited England frequently, except during the war, and there he worked closely with the organ builder Henry Willis III. His technique and prodigious musical memory soon placed him among the most sought-after recitalists, and he attracted numerous pupils from around the world.

In 1945 he gave the first complete performance in Italy of Bach's organ works at the church of Sant'Ignazio in Rome, a cycle he repeated for years there and at the basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. The notes for that cycle appeared in 1949 as an illustrated guide. Between 1948 and 1959 he held the post of first organist of St Peter's Basilica. After the war he expanded his repertoire to include much of Reger's output and, occasionally, the complete works of Franck. He had been recording since the 1930s and, after the war, did so very prolifically, and several of his recordings have been reissued on CD.

His legacy includes a four-volume organ method, published between 1939 and 1952, and an edition of Frescobaldi's Fiori musicali and Toccatas. His Concerto in C minor was lost after he lent the manuscript to a stranger. He received numerous honours, among them the Italian State's Special Cultural Award in 1997. His papers are held by the Fernando Germani Society in Reykjavík.