Variations on Silbermann is a tribute to the new organ inaugurated in 1743 in the chapel of the East Thuringian castle Burgk, a jewel from the late period of Silbermann – and to composers from the 17th and 18th centuries who came from Central Germany or worked there. Moreover, the CD offers a glimpse into the Neapolitan Alessandro Scarlatti, whose groundbreaking work for keyboard instruments has all too often been overshadowed by that of his son Domenico Scarlatti. The program presents both variation works from the period in which the Silbermann organ of Burgk was created and the full spectrum of Baroque structural and sound constellations on a single-manual instrument. Daniel Beilschmidt – university organist in Leipzig and castle organist in Altenburg – grew up not far from Schloss Burgk and knows the instrument and its sonic possibilities inside and out. He convinces here with his versatile, virtuosic and emotional interpretation.