László Fassang

Pipes dreamboat: Fassang plays Disney Hall on Sunday.

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More About

• Laszlo Fassang
• Johannes Brahms
• Franz Liszt
• Calgary
• Budapest

László Fassang is definitely not your run-of-the-mill stodgy organist. The handsome young Budapest-born keyboard whiz has a mischievous, confident smile that warns you to fasten your seatbelt ’cause he’s about to make those pipes roar like you’ve never heard them. Critics have lauded Fassang’s performance of Bach’s “treacherous” D major Prelude and Fugue as “a true marvel,” and his mastery of another treacherous composer, Franz Liszt, is capable of taking the breath away. Fassang grabs prizes right and left; he took the Grand Prix de Chartres and the Audience Prize at the 2004 Chartres International Organ Competition, the 2002 Improvisation Gold Medal at the Royal Bank Calgary International Organ Festival and Competition, and a couple of top honors at the Fourth International Organ Competition of the City of Paris without any trouble. This week he comes to the Music Center with a daunting program that includes Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major and Chaconne from the D minor Partita; Brahms’ Five Chorale Preludes; Liszt’s Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H; and the showstopper of showstoppers: his own arrangement of four Hungarian Dances by Brahms. Plus, for some fun, he’ll do an on-the-spot improvisation of a given theme with, no doubt, some jazz/folk frills. Walt Disney Concert Hall; Sun., Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m.; $21-$45. (323) 850-2000 or www.laphil.com.