Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 | Jürgen Wolf (St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig, 1999)

It’s possibly the most recognizable organ work of all time: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565. Here, Bach’s tour de force is being played by Jürgen Wolf on the church organ of Leipzig’s Nikolaikirche. The performance took place at a commemorative concert held on October 9, 1999 – exactly ten years after the ‘Monday Demonstration’. On October 9, 1989, some 70,000 citizens overcame their fear of the authoritarian regime to demonstrate for freedom and more democracy in Leipzig – the second largest city of former East Germany. The peaceful, large-scale demonstration is considered a key historical moment which, in combination with other events, led to the fall of the Wall a month later on November 9, 1989. It is not known precisely when Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) wrote the Toccata and Fugue in D minor. At times, it was even questioned whether it was written by Bach at all. Most researchers now assume, however, that the organ classic is the work of a youn