He was famed throughout Europe as a performer, teacher, and composer of ballets, opera, concertos and organ symphonies, although today he is largely remembered for one work, his Toccata for organ, this week Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Charles-Marie Widor.

Widor was dazzling Paris with his organ performances at the church of St. Sulpice. The social elite of the city would be allowed to sit in the organ loft with Widor and watch him perform, including the banker Frederic d'Erlanger, to whom the composer dedicated his Trio Opus 19. The Cavaillé-Coll instrument at St. Sulpice offered a rich palette to composers, and soon Widor started writing sets of symphonies for his instrument, although some commentators couldn't understand how you could composer a symphony for solo organ.

Mixing in the cultural circles of Paris was very important to Widor. He composed many songs during his career, and dedicated them to various aristocrats and artists. Widor was also socialising with the musical elite, including Liszt, and he attended one of the first performances of Wagner's Ring Cycle at Bayreuth. He was keen to push musical boundaries himself, and his symphonic poem La Nuit de Walpurgis, the witches' Sabbath, caused quite a stir. Some critics thought that Widor was going too far! Show less