Hans Fagius studied the organ under Bengt Berg and at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm under Alf Linder. After graduating in 1974 he continued his studies in Paris with Maurice Duruflé, and while still a student he won the international organ competitions in Leipzig and Stockholm.
Starting in 1974, the Fagius-BIS collaboration has lasted more than 30 years. The 17 CD-set of Bach’s complete organ music was recorded between 1983-1989, but Hans Fagius had already before this recorded a number of discs for BIS, including works by Otto Olsson, best known of all Swedish organ composers, and an interpretation of Liszt’s three major organ works which was awarded the 1981 Grand Prix du Disque of the Hungarian Liszt Society. Recordings made after the Bach series include organ symphonies by Widor on two discs – the first one of the these being the last recording made on the famous organ in the Katarina Church in Stockholm before it was destroyed in a fire some months later. His latest releases on BIS include a survey on two discs of the organ works by Karg-Elert, and a highly acclaimed recording of the complete organ music by Fagius’ own teacher Duruflé, which the Gramophone reviewer called “the top recommendation for this repertoire”.
In his choice of repertoire, Hans Fagius concentrates on the music from the baroque and romantic epochs. He performs regularly throughout Europe, Australia and North America, gives frequent master classes and has served on juries for many organ competitions. Parallel with his career as a performer, he was teaching the organ for many years in Stockholm and Gothenburg, until being appointed professor at the Royal Danish Conservatory in Copenhagen in 1989. In 1998 Hans Fagius was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
