ConcertPulse
ORGAN CONCERT: Karol Mossakowski
Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)
The young Polish organist Karol Mossakowski, celebrated for his virtuoso interpretations and creative improvisations, will be our guest in this breathtaking concert of scintillating organ music. The programme includes elaborate compositions such as the popular work "Cortège et Litanie" by Marcel Dupré, which was originally written in the early 1920s for the stage and contains a wealth of catchy tunes. César Franck completed his organ "Pastorale" in 1862 – a piece composed in the form of a three-part song and, in keeping with its title, full of tender expression. Maurice Duruflé created a poignant work in memory of a friend who died in World War II, whose name he wove both into the introductory minor prelude and into the zestful double fugue. Thierry Escaich’s creative universe is shaped by the “battle between emotions”. His 1997 “Tanz fantasie” is correspondingly passionate – luxuriating in lyrical, arching melodies, but also offering surprising shifts in rhythm, and finally intensifying into a frenzied dance that scarcely obeys the laws of nature. Mendelssohn created his 1841 "Variations sérieuses" with "true passion”. Over the course of this work, an outstanding original theme becomes increasingly harmonically veiled, while its range of expression is continuously expanded. Before Karel Mossakowski presents his spontaneous improvisational creations to bring the concert to a close, we will hear Pierre Cochereau’s magnificent Boléro. This 1973 composition audibly refers to Ravel’s masterpiece, for here, too, the rhythm of the snare drum forms the backbone of the music’s mesmerising development.