Reger achieved fame primarily through his organ works, although he has also achieved significant achievements in the areas of chamber music, song, choir and orchestral composition.

 

In the 1920s he was the most frequently interpreted contemporary composer in German-speaking countries. Reger himself described his compositions as difficult, both for the performers and for the listeners. This applies above all to the works of the middle creative period, which are characterized by an extreme expansion of the tonality.

 

In his last creative years, Reger tried to simplify the musical "sentence" in favor of the greatest possible clarity and subtlety. The "storm and potion years", as Reger called them, were over, and Reger now declared his personal style as the "free Jena style".

 

Despite its popularity in the 1920s, Reger was later more and more forgotten, especially by the general public. Only in the last few years has his music been increasingly present in concert halls again.