Cinematic Symphony on Organ / Safety Last!

Cinematic Symphony on Organ / Buster Keaton

Cinematic Symphony on Organ / Fritz Lang / Metropolis

Cinematic Symphony on OrganOrgan improvisation complements old cinema exceptionally well, lending century-old films a new dimension. The concept is almost as old as cinematography itself. The first screening with an organ took place in 1908, at the Alcazar Theatre in Chicago. That was how silent movies – accompanied by the one-person orchestra at the manuals – would celebrate their triumphs for the next two decades, until talking movies were invented and popularised in the late 30s and early 40s. The purpose-built instruments even earned their own name: the film or theatre organ. If there was a thing they could not do! Among the sound effects they could imitate, one could find snoring, laughter, and even… kisses. The organ could yell for revenge, frantically pull at something or someone with sharp claws, cry bitter tears of sorrow, weep for love, moan at pangs of conscience, cry like a baby, giggle like a toddler, and even… bark like a dog. A musician who can improvise at the organ for film is a true rarity. They must be able to join melodies, harmonies and counterpoint together into a neat musical form. And simultaneously, to follow the picture being shown at the moment…

The greatest of symphonies / Widor’s organ symphony

Daniel Roth is currently one of the most exquisite organists of our time and a wonderful improviser. His talent and achievement inspire awe in both critics and melomaniacs the world over. Superficially calm and phlegmatic, at the keyboard he is transformed into a volcano of energy. He can bring any composition to life and render it moving for the contemporary listener as well. The coming organ recital is not just a musical event, but a true celebration of virtuosity for organ music aficionados. The programme of the recital includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach, but also those by lesser-known composers, such as Alexandre-Pierre-François Boëly and Jehan Alain. While Roth’s exceptional musical sensitivity can find its expression in interpretations of both romantic and contemporary works, the culmination of the concert will be his performance of Charles-Marie Widor’s Organ Symphony No. 10 in D major, “Romane”, considered one of the most important pieces in the composer’s entire oeuvre, and simultaneously one of the greatest achievements among all French organ compositions ever to have been created. [Alexandra Kozowicz]Concert duration (intermission included): approximately 120 minutes

What do the alpine horn and the organ have in common? / Torlontano / Di Lernia

Although the organ is traditionally associated with sacred music and grand concerts, it can also be a fascinating complement to less typical chamber settings. The untypical combinations in this year’s organ concert series provide unique sounds and new, unexpected combinations. The result? We become more open to new interpretational possibilities and free experimenting. True to its "geographical" name, the alpine horn was often used in the Alps as a shepherd's instrument, its sound echoing through mountain valleys, serving both as a means of communication and in folk music. Hence the presence of such pieces as the traditional melody In den Alpen in the programme. This will be completed by the pastoral compositions by Leopold Mozart and Anton Zimmermann, Arcangelo Corelli’s baroque concerto arranged by Francesco Di Lernia, and contemporary compositions by Arvo Pärt and Giovanni D’Aquila. This diverse repertoire will take listeners on a journey across eras and musical styles, towards discoveries of new, surprising sounds. Alexandra KozowiczConcert duration: approximately 80 minutes

Zuzana Ferjenčíková, organ

When a composer writes a work they have a clear idea or vision of how they want it to sound. Sometimes though, other tonal ideas emerge in retrospect, or history decides that a work can, in fact, sound quite different. That is the moment for the arranger to step in and tailor a new »tonal garment« for the piece, as it were. In the case of Franz Liszt’s symphonic poems, for instance, this was done by his contemporary Alexander Winterberger and the modern visionary Jean Guillou. Winterberger turned the piano variations on »Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen« into a veritable organ work – so successfully, in fact, that the original piano version is hardly ever played nowadays. Guillou, on the other hand, himself a first-rate virtuoso, took Liszt’s vision of the Orpheus saga and expanded on it to create a fabulous orgy of sound for organ. Now the Slovak organist and former Guillou student Zuzana Ferjenčíková is just the right person to perform this repertoire. Blessed with a phenomenal technique and driven by an incessant inner passion, she breathes new life into these arrangements at her Elbphilharmonie debut – which includes Sergei Rachmaninov’s famous »Isle of the Dead« and keyboard works by Mozart, one of which Ferjenčíková has arranged herself. Finally, Guillou’s truly titanic fantasy on Hyperion, the divine messenger of light, is an original work written for the organ.>

Iveta Apkalna, Organ

Franz Liszt was one of the greatest artists of his time. A marvellous virtuoso, a master of self-expression and, later in life, a monk-like recluse. That being the case, his music is both a playground for the piano virtuoso and a canon of equal significance on a metaphysical level too. And this is especially true of his organ music. Liszt’s programme music takes on a whole new dimension on this king of instruments – be it his portrayal of the titan Prometheus, the incredibly vivid vision of Francis of Paola walking on water, or the colossal »Funérailles«. In this solo performance, Iveta Apkalna, the organist-in-residence at the Elbphilharmonie, places the Hungarian-Austrian composer in context alongside French organ music. Works can be heard by the Romantics and by Liszt contemporaries Gabriel Dupont, Gabriel Pierné, Léon Boëllmann and César Franck, whose magnificent »Pièce héroïque« with its steadily intensifying dynamics closes the first half.

Karol Mossakowski, Organ

France and Germany – today, these two countries are best friends. The long-standing rivalry between them has, however, not only led to many a disagreement in politics. Even in the field of organ music, they took different paths for a long time: in France, people celebrated sound and tone colour; in Germany, virtuosity and counterpoint. Karol Mossakowski showcases the best of both worlds: a sedate organ symphony in the style of Widor, sound magic in the style of Fauré and visionary music in the style of Alain – all of them first-rate musical gems. Fauré clad the myth of Pelléas and Mélisande in subtle, highly sensitive sounds, Alain paved the way for the 21st century with his organ music widening the musical horizon. Not for nothing are the moving Litanies on the foundation of human existence some of the most widely played organ works of all for instance. Mendelssohn and Liszt are bywords for the German Romantic school. The variations sérieuses as well as the Mephisto Waltzes had originally been written for piano, but the art of arrangement has a long tradition especially in organ circles. What is not playable will be made playable – that is the motto here. After all, compared with pianists, organists also have two feet and an enormous pool of tonal colours at their disposal. Karol Mossakowski will also make use of this when he pursues another tradition cultivated by organists: improvisation. Here too, he is a true master of his trade.

David Briggs, Organ

The first part of David Briggs’ concert proceeds majestically, the second part is symphonic. With this British organist, one of the stars of the organ world is gracing the Elbphilharmonie: previously a cathedral organist in Truro and Gloucester, then as artist in residence in New York and Toronto, he is in demand worldwide when the king of instruments is to sound. Because if there is one thing that the British can do it is this: royal splendour! The baroque composer Jeremiah Clarke had already elegantly celebrated this in his »Prince of Denmark’s March«. This is why the contemporary composer Patrick Gowers has written a humorous remark in the rumba rhythm. The story of Pelléas and Mélisande, which Claude Debussy immersed in impressionistic orchestral colours and David Briggs arranged for organ, also plays in the royal atmosphere. Furthermore, Briggs is devoted to Symphony No. 1 by Johannes Brahms. Because this is his speciality: arranging big orchestral symphonies for symphonic organ. Primarily, the symphonies of Gustav Mahler impressed the Brit, but also Brahms is eminently suitable, especially his first symphonic opus. The tremendous pedal point for instance (fittingly the name for accompanying repeated notes) with which the first movement begins is really made to be played on the eponymous instrument. And with a skilful arranger such as David Briggs we can be certain: the other three movements will also sound as if they were composed for the organ. Especially when he has such a symphonic instrument as the organ of the Elbphilharmonie under his feet and hands.

Olivier Latry, Organ

Olivier Latry, one of the most acclaimed organists of our time, returns to play the organ at the Elbphilharmonie. As one of the organists of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, he represents one of the oldest and most important musical traditions in the history of music. This is reflected too in his programme, which consists exclusively of works by former Notre-Dame organists or, to put it another way, Latry’s esteemed predecessors. There is Louis Vierne, for example, whose organ symphonies rank among the undisputed highlights of symphonic organ music, and particularly his Third Symphony. It is probably the best known of the six and a work full of drama, lyricism and mysticism. Pierre Cochereau’s Boléro is equally well known and loved. Originally composed as an improvisation and only set down in writing at a later date, the legendary titulaire of Notre-Dame transformed a simple theme by one of his predecessors into an intoxicating orgy of sound. Olivier Latry also has a reputation for being a gifted improviser. This is a discipline traditionally cultivated in France, where he is regarded as a maestro full of inspiration and ideas. But before giving us a taste of this, we hear music by Jean-Pierre Leguay, one of Latry’s colleagues at Notre-Dame until 2016. Leguay is regarded as a composer keen to forge a path for musical tradition into the future. A masterful improviser himself, his innovative music often transgresses from firmly cemented traditions, picking up on these traditions in original ways at the same time.

Iveta Apkalna, organ

Iveta Apkalna pursues two milestones in organ music: Johann Sebastian Bach’s enormous Chaconne and César Franck’s ground-breaking »Grande pièce symphonique«, whose title alludes to the symphonic sound possibilities of the organ and fully exploits them. The titular organist of the Elbphilharmonie complements her solo programme with three further pieces, which also showcase »her« instrument in full splendour. Johann Sebastian Bach’s Chaconne was originally composed for violin. The contrapuntal entanglements which Bach created within it have, however, inspired several composers to arrange this work for organ. Also, the »Danse Macabre« by Camille Saint-Saëns, originally composed for voice and piano, only became famous in its orchestral version and sounds just as very wonderfully eerie on the organ. César Franck dedicated his »Prélude, fugue et variation« to his friend and organ colleague Saint-Saëns; the three movements seem very different and yet hang together thematically. As one of the forefathers of organ symphony, Franck is at the inception of a development which had far-reaching consequences for organ building and organ music: to this day (and so also at the Elbphilharmonie), the thousand organ pipes of one instrument should ideally cover the full range of symphonic sound. Iveta Akpalna, who, as the titular organist, knows the Elbphilharmonie organ like hardly anyone else, can exploit the entire colourful richness of the instrument to perfectly set the scene for each piece of her programme.