Virgil Fox Interview | St. Mary's Cathedral 1976 | HD Version

[@paulmartin4139]

I met Fox in St. Mary’s Cathedral as he was rehearsing just around the time this interview was filmed. He let me play the Rodgers touring organ and as I played, he pulled out the stops. Virginia Trodden who was the facility manager of the cathedral often gave me the key to the cathedral’s Rufatti organ to practice when I was a 15 year old student at nearby Sacred Heart High School. For better or worse, Fox sparked in me a life-long enthusiasm for the organ and the great organ works he performed and recorded throughout his life. I also heard Fox perform at the Paramount in Oakland.

[@mattbod]

RIP Virgil: brilliant player and character.

[@medievalmusiclover]

So wonderful Organist and person, definitely steel my favorite one.

[@abk2k3aaronkauflin83]

“You know there’s no such thing as interrupting music music started and will never end it’s just weather you tune in or tune out” -Virgil Fox I wish I could’ve met him tbh

[@mattbod]

Me too though I met his friend and protege the late Carlo Curley and he was delightful: extremely warm, chatty and enthusiastic and just a genuine down to earth guy...and fantastic player.

[@organgrinder1962]

I had the pleasure of meeting him twice after incredible concerts and was not only amazed by his unprecedented musicianship but his unbelievable memory. The first time was after a concert in Ft. Lauderdale on a 4 manual Möller pipe organ. I was in my mid to late teens and had just started playing the organ in a tiny church. I introduced myself as an organist from Miami and congratulated him on an incredible concert. Several years went by before he brought his touring Allen to Dade County Auditorium in Miami for another unforgettable concert. I hadn't seen him in the several years since that one brief encounter in Ft. Lauderdale. After the concert I waited in line to meet him again. I walked up to him and before I could say a word he said "Well Ken Hager, how the heck are you?!" I was dumbfounded! I was just a young kid starting out as an organist (been playing in churches for 43 years this month now) and in reality a nobody, but this legendary man remembered my name! A mind like a steel trap! His exciting and unconventional playing has inspired me and my style of playing for all these years. Rest in peace, Virgil!

[@alanpurchase1060]

Truly, a man ahead of his time. And yet... Well, I'll just leave it at that.

[@SpitzPrincipal4]

Beautiful. "For all the Saints"- very appropriate to end his encounter with the organ!

[@Malignus68]

If it weren't for hyperbole, I don't think he'd be able to speak at all.

[@DavidSnyderLumierist]

Obviously he reached out to you so I wonder are you an "Old Dear or an Old Queen". Oh by the way, the 17000 school age children he reached out to in Norfolk in our Heavy Organ Concert that cancelled their lunch hour so they could stay longer and hear him play longer than the 2 hour program were neither,,. just new fans who are carrying his legacy now down through time.

[@ricktomlinson5481]

And I was one of those kids just out of high school and will never forget my first concert at Hyattsville United Methodist Church in the late 60s. I really thought the roof was going to fly off the foundation when at the end of the concert we sang 'A Mighty Fortress is out God'. Wow! I was hooked ! I mean WOW !

[@DavidSnyderLumierist]

Hope you are as thrilled as I am at rediscovering this video and hearing Virgil's magnificent personal King of Instruments.

[@juliancascio7345]

Yes!!

[@johnsilverton639]

It's very funny

[@charlesc920]

Does anyone know if there are other videos of the Rodgers Royal V being played as he does here in the beginning?

[@bombarde1701a]

David any idea which pieces were recorded specifically on the Royal V and which on the Ruffatti? Richard Torrance years ago refused to tell me when I asked. I just wanted to know so I can label them on my playlist.

[@JohannnesBrahms]

Anyone know the piece that he opens the video with?

[@DavidSnyderLumierist]

Bits and pieces of the Pasacaglia

[@JohannnesBrahms]

Not the one in c minor. It is the music that is interrupted in the very beginning of the video.

[@Maazel456]

Bach Violin Sonata in A Minor - Andante

[@JohannnesBrahms]

WoW! Four years and no one got it. This is one of those pieces for me that I knew and recognized but couldn't put a name to. It has been torturing me for such a long time. Thanks so much for making the effort to respond. And kudos to your choice of recording of the 1812 on your home page. You have a new subscriber.🥰

[@ludovicleprinceroyal8721]

@@JohannnesBrahms wife: "Stop playing that racket!" husband: "Racket?!" "It's Brahms Third Racket!" Do you know what sitcom that is from? Hilarious.

[@andrewlarson603]

What is that piece at the beginning that gets interrupted??

[@Engineer9736]

Adagio Cantabile by J.S. Bach - kzbin.info/www/bejne/l2WYpIeVqdSrl9U 🙂 Be sure to check the other videos on that channel as well. Doug Marshall was a student of Virgil Fox, and is also an organ builder. They have some amazing organ music on there.

[@DavidSnyderLumierist]

I will also add that the audio production is an abomination and in retrospect we should not have allowed it to air.

[@organmaster429]

anyone know what that last piece is?

[@tonytiger75]

The Hymn "For All the Saints who from their labors rest"

[@jimmybuffet4970]

Virgil Fox is “Minnesota Fats” if he played like Willie Marconi.

[@johnsilverton639]

I apologize I should have said Old Dears, old queens and old loonies. Crystal Cathedral, Hour of power. Hahaha.

[@DavidSnyderLumierist]

So,,are you an Old Dear, and Old Queen, or just an Old Loonie.? Curious because earlier you said those who love Virgil Fox are one of "those",,and he obviously reached you. At least he was able to make you feel ,,,,,something.

[@johnsilverton639]

Virgil Fox reached out to "Old "Queens" and "Old Dears" . Power Biggs played real music and reached out to Musicians. Fox was an embarrassment.

[@ricktomlinson5481]

@Maikind K. thank you for this comment ! Hit the nail on the head !

[@ricktomlinson5481]

@Maikind K. Sadly many do not see that both the Fox camp and the Biggs camp gave us all the gift of individuality and approach to the organ world. Fox the ham, a real fun showman, Biggs conservative and 'musical'. Both making recordings of their individual interpretations. Both valid. As an organ buff, technician and player (not professional) I love equally the fun of ripping off a piece on a nice big Skinner but also enjoy the intimacy of a small tracker. I used to take sides on these 2 camps but now clearly see the value & worth of both. I would wish that Mr. Silverton could realize this as I too found his comment rude and unnecessary!

[@jamesmiller4184]

@@ricktomlinson5481 Ditto all that here! I've just about a complete run of L.P.'s and R-R's (including shellacs) of both. (George Wright too!) I've always wondered why there is no interview or playing footage of Biggs? Lots of stills but nothing moving. Biggsie's memorial collection box-set, in his speaking cut, reveals him to have been a quite effective communicator, having a good humor-sense. . : .

[@DavidSnyderLumierist]

WOW,, quite a "Revelation" but I ask would you or anyone you know pay 100 dollars for a ticket to a concert by any other organist (nope),,well what about 50,,(nope) well then how about 50 to hear Biggsey, well perhaps because at least with any of the others you can watch them swatting at pages of music flapping all over the music rack as they squint trying to play, see the music and likely wonder how they ever got themselves into this in the first place. Seriously,,Virgil Fox irregardless of other opinions was the greatest organist that ever lived,,,period! Absolutely no one has accomplished what he did begining from the age of 14 through to his untimely death. No other one has ever drawn the audiences that scream for more and still remember and adore him 40 years after his death.

[@organgrinder1962]

Old Queens? Look, I personally don't care if he was gay as a three dollar bill or not. That had nothing to do with his incredible musicianship and exciting playing. He consistently drew sell-out crowds to some 60 concerts or so a year when other organists including your sainted E. Power Brakes couldn't fill a telephone booth. Now tell me who was the greatest organist of our time? Only one name in my book, Virgil Fox.