Persons

Denny Wilke

Organ
Winner of International Competition

Biography

As an organist he regularly plays with orchestras such as the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the MDR Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, the Nuremberg State Philharmonic Orchestra, the Halle Staatskapelle, the MDR Radio Choir, the National Orchestra of Ukraine, the National Choir of Ukraine DUMKA, Latvian State Choir, the Gewandhaus Choir, the Dresden Philharmonic Choir, the Berlin Philharmonic Choir and many others.

He has had artistic encounters with Kurt Masur, Riccardo Chailly, Neeme Järvi, Kristjan Järvi, Howard Arman, Simone Young, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Andris Nelsons, Dennis Rusell Davies and others.

Invitations for soloist recitals take him to important church music venues and concert halls.

As a sought-after continuo player and chamber music partner on the harpsichord, the historical fortepiano or the modern piano, Wilke accompanies singers, instrumentalists and chamber music ensembles, which takes him to various festivals.

Since the restoration of the large Ladegast organ, a variety of tasks await him - alongside cathedral organist Michael Schönheit - as organist at Merseburg Cathedral.
He is artistic director of the "Mühlhäuser Marienkonzerte" and Cityorganist of the Marienkirche in Mühlhausen, one of Johann Sebastian Bach's places of work.

In 2010 he was a prize-winner at the International Sydney Organ Competition.
His solo CD with organ works by Franz Liszt was nominated for the Best List of the German Record Critics' Prize in 2015.

The CD "FRENCH ROOTS - Works by Liszt, Dupré & Demessieux", recorded on the great Seifert organ of the Marienbasilika Kevelaer, caused a sensation, among other things because of the world premiere recording of the variations on "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" by Franz Liszt in a version after Marcel Dupré.
In 2017, three CDs were released with him as soloist, recorded on the large Rieger organ of the Marienstatt Abbey Church, on the large Sauer organ of the Church of St. Mary in Mühlhausen.

In the summer of 2018, he made a guest appearance in Cuba, where he taught Cuba's only organ class in the Havana Cathedral.

In autumn of the same year, Wilke toured Russia as a soloist and gave organ recitals with symphonic organ literature in the philharmonies and concert halls of major cities.

On the CD „Am Weihnachtsbaum“ (At the Christmas Tree) with the Philharmonic Children's Choir Dresden, released by sony, he also plays the organ of the Kulturpalast Dresden for the first time.

Regular recordings for radio and television at home and abroad complement his artistic work.

In 2019 he performed as a musician in Cuba as part of the „500 Years of Havana“ festival week.

In 2020 and 2021 he again took his place on the organ benches in the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Kulturpalast Dresden, the Berlin Philharmonie, among others, and could be heard at various festivals in Europe.

In the spring of 2022, he set off again for concerts in Cuba.

With the Gewandhaus Orchestra and him on the organ, he also toured Europe (London, Paris, Vienna, etc.).

This year he will appear at the Salzburg Easter Festival (with the BR Radio Choir and the Gewandhaus Orchestra), the Artur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra in Łódź (Poland), the Mahler Festival in Leipzig, Moravian Autumn (Brno Phiharmonic und dem Slovac Philharmonic Choir Bratislava) and many more.

In the summer of 2023 he was also invited to the Music Academy in Kaliningrad (cathedral) as a guest lecturer.

February 2024


Nearest concerts

Grand Hall:
191186, St. Petersburg, Mikhailovskaya st., 2
+7 (812) 240-01-80, +7 (812) 240-01-00
Small Hall:
191011, St. Petersburg, Nevsky av., 30
+7 (812) 240-01-70
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Box office opening hours: 11 am to 8 pm (on concerts days to 8.30 pm)
Lunch Break: 3 pm to 4 pm
Box office opening hours: from 11 am to 7 pm (on concerts days to 7.30 pm)
Lunch Break: 3 pm to 4 pm
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«Saint-Petersburg Philharmonia»