Dear friends,

Here's what we found worth sharing with you this week:

1. SOPP733: I have shaking hands and the fear of messing up when playing the organ in public
2. Learn with Vidas - Improvising Modulations, Part I | 2025-06-23
3. Live Organ Music - On the Bench with Vidas No. 48 | 2025-06-20
4. Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene - Simple Processional, Op. 36 | VU St. John's Church
5. Vidas Pinkevicius - Fantasia on the Themes by M. K. Čiurlionis for Organ Duet, Op. 11a
6. Gaudeamus igitur (Vocal Ensemble) | VU St. John's Church
7. Vidas Pinkevicius - Festival Procession, Op. 334 | VU St. John's Church
8. Vidas Pinkevicius - Meditation on Ut queant laxis, Op. 347 | Hauptwerk Alessandria
9. Organ Music for Corpus Christi Sunday | VU St. John's Church | 2025-06-22
10. Vidas Pinkevicius - Royal Entrance, Op. 332 | VU St. John's Church
11. Vidas Pinkevicius - Whispers of Peace, Op. 331 | VU St. John's Church
12. Vidas Pinkevicius - Fanfare of Glory, Op. 330 | VU St. John's Church
13. Vidas Pinkevicius - March of Triumph, Op. 329 | VU St. John's Church

Thanks for reading! This newsletter is free but not cheap. If you like our work and want to support it, you can buy us coffee or forward it to someone who’d like it. If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.

And remember, when you practice, miracles happen!

​Vidas and Ausra
​www.organduo.lt

Dear friends,

Here's what we found worth sharing with you this week:

1. Learn with Vidas - How to Improvise on Pange Lingua Gregorian Chant Hymn
2. Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene - Meditation on Christe Sanctorum, Op. 33
3. Emergency Organ Recital - VU St. John's Church | 2025-06-14
4. Ausra Motuzaite Pinkeviciene - Trio on Pange Lingua, Op. 34
5. Live Organ Music - On the Bench with Vidas No. 47 | 2025-06-13
6. SOPP732: I think some pieces are just inherently "mismatched" with the performer
7. Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene - Litany on Tu es Petrus, Op. 35 | Hauptwerk Dudelange
8. Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene - Trio on Pange Lingua, Op. 34 Hauptwerk Dudelange
9. Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene - Meditation on Christe Sanctorum, Op. 33 | Hauptwerk Dudelange
10. Vidas Pinkevicius - Processional on St. Denio, Op. 328 | Hauptwerk Dudelange
11. Vidas Pinkevicius - Drifting on the Lake, Op. 327 (Piano Solo)
12. Vidas Pinkevicius - Stargazing on the Hill, Op. 326 (Piano Solo)
13. Vidas Pinkevicius - Whispers of Warmth, Op. 325 (Piano Solo) 

Thanks for reading! This newsletter is free but not cheap. If you like our work and want to support it, you can buy us coffee or forward it to someone who’d like it. If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.
And remember, when you practice, miracles happen!

Vidas and Ausra
​www.organduo.lt

Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!

Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist.

V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius...

A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene.

V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ

A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011.

V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today.

A: We hope you’ll enjoy it!

V:  Hi guys!  This is Vidas.

A:  And Ausra.

V:  Let’s start episode 732 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Rien, and he writes:

Maybe you could answer this question in a podcast (referring to Benas): with some pieces you “feel” while practicing that everything comes together. And if you are there, you stay there. Even if you don’t play the piece for a while, it still flows (maybe with some light practice) out of your hands in the right way, while other pieces don’t seem to “stick”. What’s the reason? Not enough practice, wrong practice routines? Or just a mismatch between the piece and performer?

And Benas answers:

Hi, Rien, that's a very interesting topic you've touched upon - yes, I think some pieces are just inherently "mismatched" with the performer (I've had quite a few when I was learning piano in music school), but after a while I tried revisiting them and often found that the issue was the skill level required to play as well as understand the piece. But some of them just can't seem to be done right no matter how hard you try, yet they flow in other performers' hands and feet beautifully - maybe they could offer insight into how they perceive the piece? It surely would be interesting to know all the factors that go into "matching" the performer and the piece of music.

To which Rien answers:

It would be nice if Ausra and Vidas make a Podcast over it. I myself struggle with Toccatas (my brain seems to have troubles with repeating patterns) and with pieces with lots of accidentals. That’s the reason I still haven’t published “Prière à Notre Dame” by Boëllmann. There are lots of accidentals in it. So I prefer a piece written in 5 flats over a piece in F full with accidentals. But why? I think that’s interesting…

​V:  So Ausra, Rien was reacting to our recent podcast conversation about playing Trio Sonatas.  That was the question that Benas submitted earlier, how he’s scared to play more Trio Sonatas, remember?

A:  Yes, I remember.

V:  And that was a good discussion out of this episode.

A:  Yes. What came out, while reading all this, listening to what you were reading, sometimes I wanted to cry, sometimes I wanted to laugh, and sometimes I wanted to shout. (laughs)

V:  Let’s recap, and let’s explain what you’re talking about.

A:  Yeah. Let me talk first of all about those accidentals.  Well, I think that people, many people are scared of accidentals.  Remember our friend from Sweden who was performing that enormous, big piece with the choir by Latvian composer, and he showed our Partitura and he had to follow and the piece lasted like forever, and he would cry, “Oh look - there are like five crosses and six crosses!” At the beginning, I could not understand what he means by “crosses” and later I understood that he…

V: Sharps.

A:  …that he calls that “sharps” and he was terrified, although he performed entire piece already.

V:  It might be translation, literal translation from German.

A:  Could be, could be, yes.

V:  I’m not sure, but I’ve heard it before.

A:  Yes. But anyway, I think all this, because people are worried accidentals, there could be two reasons.  Either they are really bad at music theory, or another thing that it’s simply a mental block.  Because believe, if you know music theory really well, it does not matter if you play in C Major or in C sharp Major.  All keys are exactly the same.  They can feel different for your fingers, because of course I would say that the C major key is the most uncomfortable for the hand, because the more accidentals you get, the easier it gets for the arm and for your hand.

V:  Until a certain extent.

A:  Yeah, until a certain extent.

V:  It’s like playing pedal scales in C major.  Not as comfortable as D major.

A:  Yes.  And for example, when I’m playing the Barber, I just pray that piece would have more accidentals in the pedal, because it’s much easier to play accidentals in the pedalboard than lower keys.  So it’s all just the way of how you come up to the piece and what you say to yourself.  And in general, we talked about how we came back to the piece after a year and revisiting it and how it felt much better or it still felt worse.  In general, I think that many things for musicians depends on the mental state, and how can you put together things in your brain.

V:  Mm hm.

A:  Because if you say that this piece is not right for you, if it’s too difficult for you, it has too many sharps or flats, then of course you put like a mental block for yourself and you will not overcome it.

V:  Yes, and Rien asked me how I personally look at pieces with lots of accidentals and some dissonant music, right, music, abstract music, right.  Definitely it’s much more difficult than tonal music for me to play.  Also, I’m not a superman.  But I look at it as a professional:  if that’s the piece that they have to play, like somebody assigned it to me, or if I chose it to play because I like the piece, not necessarily because I think it’s easy, but I like it and I want to play it, I will find a way to master it one way or another.  Maybe it will not be as fast as the other music that I usually play, maybe not as easy, maybe it will require some special learning techniques and tricks, but I think the music is most important.  If you like it, you will find a way to persevere.

A:  And you know, I never think, what I know for sure, that if you will not challenge yourself, whatever kind of challenge you will choose, either to play trio, or not to play pieces with many accidentals, or to play let’s say toccata as Rien said, with repeating patterns…by the way Rien, I hate repeating patterns too, they hurt my hands and sort of yes, so I see what you mean.  But if you want to do that, you will never overcome yourself and you will never be comfortable with, because you cannot be comfortable with playing with many accidentals if you will not try.  So maybe I would suggest for Rien, maybe do a challenge for yourself over the summer.  Maybe every week, or every day when you’re practicing a new piece, add one more accidental.

V:  But that goes against Rien’s attitude toward playing, because for him, he said his music, organ playing, is relaxation.

A:  Then you should…

V:  After a stressful job, he gets home and gets this relaxing time on the organ and he can play and record.  So if we’re talking about really practicing and working out on the organ bench, that’s like another stressful routine for him.  I don’t know if he’s up to it.

A:  Well, that seems to be a hopeless business.  You cannot overcome something if you won’t do it and if you won’t challenge yourself.

V:  I think it’s more important to think about your goals.  What would you like to achieve in organ playing in three or six months or one year or five years from now.  Do you want to master all six Trio Sonatas, maybe like Benas wanted?

A:  Yes, but I’m not looking at such difficult pieces as Trio Sonatas, but let’s say the Prière…

V:  Prière, uh huh, it’s not very difficult.

A:  …a Notre Dame, yes, then definitely it’s worth to learn all those accidentals because it’s a beautiful piece.

V:  But it requires, of course, sort of attitude to be comfortable with uncomfortable, with being uncomfortable on the bench.  That’s the thing.  When you’re practicing Pilates in the morning, Ausra, do you always feel relaxed and easy?

A:  No, definitely not.

V:  No, you sweat.  You sweat.

A:  Yes.

V:  And you get strenuous exercise, and sometimes you want even to quit probably, in the middle.  Or not?

A:  No, when I start I never want to quit, but I know that many, many, many friends of mine look at me like I am insane, like something is wrong with me.

V:  Maybe they don’t have this goal that you do.

A:  Well, but if you know that it’s good for you, it helps for you, so why don’t you do it?

V:  Well yeah, that requires a shift in attitude.  Why are you practicing organ?  In general, right?  To have a good time?  Sure, that’s a good goal.  But then you will be at the same level in five years that you are now.  You will look at your, I don’t know, your portfolio of pieces that you mastered before, five years before right, if we are in the future, if we are five years from now, and this, the same pieces will be right now that you are playing, or similar pieces that you’re playing.  I think it’s good to play easy pieces.  I’m not against easy pieces at all.  I create easy pieces also.  But what my friend, our friend James Flores discovered is a very nice system.  I want to recapitulate it and repeat it, and focus on it a little bit.  Level 1 piece, Level 2 piece, and Level 3 piece - and you have to constantly be learning three pieces at least in your repertoire all the time.  Level 1 piece is the piece that you can sightread basically, or with minimal practice perform after a few tries.  That’s basically a piece you can do in one day.  Level 2 piece is  a piece that you need a week or a few weeks to do, so it’s considerably more.  Usually it’s like a longer piece and maybe even more advanced piece, but not as advanced as Level 3 piece.  Level 3 piece requires at least one month or several months, like many concert pieces are.  So if you constantly work on three pieces at the same time, you have also a piece for relaxation like Level 1, a little more difficult piece for short-term goal, a week or two from now, Level 2, and a longer term goal, a month or two after, from now, Level 3.  What would you say Ausra, is this…

A:  Yes, that's a very excellent approach.  I think it’s a very good way to approach the organ and to set yourself goals.  Because if you won’t challenge yourself, you won’t advance, that’s it.

V:  Yes, and there’s nothing wrong with people who don’t want to advance.

A:  Of course, but you know, yes.

V:  We have to be open minded about everybody, right?

A:  Yes, because you know, you just play maybe for yourself and maybe specific audience of yours.  Because I could not listen to Meditations all the time, or to loud and fast pieces all the time.  I need variety.

V:  Mm hm.

A:  And I myself try to play various music because if you just stick to one style that suits you, you will always just stay an amateur.

V:  Amateur in a good way, yes?  Because for example, Rien who has a question like this, why he is struggling more with a piece with lots of accidentals than a piece written with five flats.  It’s of course probably everyone is different.  But I think if he adapted such an approach that we are suggesting, always pushing a little bit yourself, just a little bit, then this piece with five flats will become easier, as easy as four flats, as easy as three, two, and one flat eventually, and these accidentals won’t bother him anymore.  And the same is with Benas.  Of course some pieces don’t seem to stick, right, to the hands right now.  But that’s temporary state.  I think in two months or three months from now, if Benas practices more difficult music and comes back to an older piece, he might discover something fresh about this piece and not be scared anymore.

A:  Yes, there is truth in what you are saying, but I also would like to contradict you a little bit, because each performer has its own character and its own ability level, and its own physicality.  Some of us are tall and skinny, and some are short and fat and - whatever.  Some have long fingers and some have short fingers, and some can reach octaves and can reach far beyond the octave. So some of us have like phlegmatic character, some melancholicals, melancholics, yes and others are really funny all the time, and I guess each of us has its own type of music that views is better than another type.  So that might be a part of that thing, why one piece sticks and another don’t.  Of course, technicality, technical ability is very important, but there are other sides of it as well.

V:  So in Rien’s case, if he likes to play cantabiles, right, he would always play only cantabiles.  He always would play adagios and relaxing pieces if that was his personality issue, right? But we can see on his YouTube channel, he has all kinds of music, even loud and fast music when it’s technically manageable.  So I would say it’s just technicality he has to overcome or not, and that’s it.

A:  Yes, most of the time, the problem sleeps in our technical skills.

V:  And the mind of course dictates how we are overcoming those technical skills.  Overcoming or not.  Mind of course lets us set goals and overcome those challenges.

A:  Yes, if it’s worth overcoming, because let’s say I think each of us has its own demons.  Like for me, it’s really hard to play thick texture because it really hurts my hands.  So I’m trying not to overuse them, because if you will push yourself in the wrong direction you might not be able to play one day at all.

V:  I also have similar situation with Schumann recently.  I wanted to record all the pieces by Schumann, Robert Schumann, on the organ.  And I recorded a few, and after I played a few more, I started noticing my hands hurt.  And then you said “stop.”  When I told you this, you said, “stop playing Schumann - look what happened to him, right?”

A:  Yes, he hurt himself, his hands.  So definitely not the easiest composer to play.

V:  Mm hm.  Yeah.  Look at your physique first and see what works for you.  And if your hands and feet allow you, then it’s only your mind which is stopping you.

A:  Yes, you know, and I often feel how nice that I’m not in school anymore and I can play whatever I want.  (laughs) It’s really nice, and nobody can tell you what to play and what not to play.

V:  And beautiful thing about organ repertoire, organ music in general, I’m now including improvisation too, and hymn playing, is that you will never run out of music to play.  Because we have like seven centuries of organ music written and surviving repertoire to look at, and to everyone’s taste, to everyone’s technical abilities.  If you have a certain kind of organ accessible to you, you can learn that kind of repertoire, if you don’t have that organ you learn another repertoire.  It’s all up to you, and it’s such a vast amount of choices that - it’s like reading books, you will never run out of books to read.

​A:  Sure, and I’m thinking that at some point I will play only hymns on the organ.  Because I’m putting so much effort into my YouTube channel over a few years, and my most popular video is hymn - Abide With Me - which I’m playing on our folding reed organ Henrietta.  Simply without pedals, with my two hands, and it’s still the most popular of my videos.  So why to struggle to play big pieces by J.S. Bach or Cesar Franck and other great composers, when you can just open your hymnal and play a hymn.

V:  It’s probably not necessarily revealing to the video itself, because it’s popular due to some certain algorithm that YouTube created, and maybe it resonated to a certain audience, right?  And maybe your other videos didn’t catch that algorithm for some reason.  But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t play music that you love.

A:  Yes, but it’s easy to play hymns without any preparation.

V:  And of course, you can compose music based on those hymns, too.

A:  Yes, that’s what I’m doing.

V:  Nice.  So guys, this was a rather long conversation, but maybe it was helpful and shed some light on the matters that you are thinking about as well in your organ playing journey.  And if you want to submit any other requests or questions that we could discuss over the podcast one day, please do so.  We would be delighted to help you grow as an organist.  This was Vidas.

A:  And Ausra.

V:  And remember, when you practice,

A: Miracles happen.

V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online.

A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online...

V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more…

A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime.

V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Buy Me a Coffee platform and get early access:

A: Find out more at https://buymeacoffee.com/organduo

Dear friends,

Here's what we found worth sharing with you this week:

1. SOPP731: Is it a good thing to put your hands on the bench during pedal solos?
2. Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene - Meditation on Christe Sanctorum, Op. 33
3. Jeanne Demessieux - Veni Creator, Op. 8 No. 8 | Hauptwerk Alessandria
4. Johann Sebastian Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 Part III, BWV 1051 | Kiruna, Sweden
5. Live Organ Music - On the Bench with Vidas No. 46 | 2025-06-06
6. Vidas Pinkevicius - Buzzing Fields, Op. 324 (Piano Solo)
7. Vidas Pinkevicius - Hammock Dreams, Op. 323 (Piano Solo)
8. Vidas Pinkevicius - Evening Glow, Op. 322 (Solo Piano)
9. Vidas Pinkevicius - Beneath the Old Oak Tree, Op. 320 (Piano Solo)
10. Vidas Pinkevicius - Veni Creator Meditation, Op. 321 (Organ Solo)
11. Vidas Pinkevicius - Summer Rain, Op. 319 (Piano Solo)
12. Vidas Pinkevicius - Wildflowers in Bloom, Op. 318 (Piano Solo)

Thanks for reading! This newsletter is free but not cheap. If you like our work and want to support it, you can buy us coffee or forward it to someone who’d like it. If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.

And remember, when you practice, miracles happen!

​Vidas and Ausra
​www.organduo.lt

Dear friends,

Here's what we found worth sharing with you this week:

1. SOPP730: I'm afraid to play Bach's Trio Sonatas
2. Learn with Vidas - How to Improvise Passacaglia | 2025-06-01
3. VU Organ Studio "Unda Maris" Recital | VU St. John's Church | 2025-05-31
4. Johann Sebastian Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 Part II, BWV 1051 | Kiruna, Sweden
5. Live Organ Music - On the Bench with Vidas No. 45 | 2025-05-30
6. Vidas Pinkevicius - Aurelia Triumphalis, Op. 314 (Organ Solo)
7. Wedding Music - VU St. John's Church
8. Vidas Pinkevicius - Benediction Light, Op. 313 (Organ Solo)
9. Vidas Pinkevicius - Celestial Breath, Op. 312 (Organ Solo)
10. Vidas Pinkevicius - Amen of the Soul, Op. 311 (Organ Solo)
11. Vidas Pinkevicius - Golden Hour, Op. 317 (Piano Solo)
12. Vidas Pinkevicius - Waves and Wind, Op. 316 (Piano Solo)
13. Vidas Pinkevicius - Sunlit Meadow, Op. 315 (Piano Solo)

Thanks for reading! This newsletter is free but not cheap. If you like our work and want to support it, you can buy us coffee or forward it to someone who’d like it. If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.
And remember, when you practice, miracles happen!

​Vidas and Ausra
​www.organduo.lt

Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!

Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist.

V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius...

A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene.

V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ

A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011.

V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today.

A: We hope you’ll enjoy it!

V:  Hi guys!  This is Vidas.

A:  And Ausra.

​V:  Let’s start episode 730 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Benas, our Unda Maris Studio student, and he writes:

After learning to play Bach's Trio Sonata in Eb major, I found myself reluctant to try and explore the rest of the Trio sonatas. What could I try to overcome this fear? CONTEXT: Last year, I played Bach's Trio Sonata in E-flat major (BWV 525) at Vilnius University Unda Maris Studio Recital in winter. I found the entire learning process extremely difficult compared to any other piece I tried to learn. Usually, when I am learning to play any piece of music, at some point I get a certain feeling that it's all going to come together eventually and that has been a good predictor of whether I will perform it well in the concert. However, with this piece, I could not feel that at all and my concert performance was really not up to my liking, making an underwhelming result after practicing it for about a year (although I must admit, the practice schedule was not very rigorous). As a result - I am really reluctant to try to learn the rest of the Trio Sonatas. However, at some point in life, I would still like to learn them. Any tips to overcome this "fear" and strategies for my next practice sessions? Many thanks!!!

V:  So Ausra, Benas has dipped his toes into Trio Sonatas.

A:  Yes, yes, thanks to me! (laughs).  Maybe now he will hate me forever.

V:  I actually find this question surprising because I never felt from him that this is the hardest piece that he learned and that he is not willing to play other Trio Sonatas by Bach in the future.

A:  Well, he’s very good student and nice person, and behaving very well.  So what can I say?  We cannot see everything what really is going on.

V:  Yeah, that was an interesting year.  This year, he played Bach-Vivaldi D minor concerto which is also very strenuous
piece.

A:  Yes, but actually I don’t blame myself for this piece, because he simply got that score and decided to learn it, and neither me or you have encouraged him to do that. So this was on his own.  But the Trio Sonata, I think maybe it was too early for him to play entire Trio Sonata, that’s one possibility - that it was our mistake as teachers.  Another thing is that Trio Sonata is really challenging.  And he was playing the easiest one out of the six.  But maybe we will have to give him to play only one movement, for example the first movement, not entire sonata.

V:  But did you really feel - during the concert when he played it last year - did you feel that it was not perfect performance, not concentrated performance?

A:  Well, yes and no.  It could have been better, but it was…

V:  But so…

A:  …it was fine, I would say.

V:  But we could say the same about any other piece that our students play, right?

A:  That’s true, that’s true definitely.

V:  “It could be better.”  But I was really delighted to hear him play at that level this Trio Sonata, all three movements.

A:  Well, me too, and I think he can really be proud of himself, because he did it.  That’s a big step ahead.  And with other pieces, you might not advance so fast.

V:  At the beginning of pandemic, I remember I started also playing my Trio Sonatas.  Maybe some of  them I refreshed, but some of them I learned from scratch.  And I decided to learn and record one movement of each sonata every week.  So I think I did like four of them, but then gave up, because this schedule was just too tight.

A:  Yes.  But you know, since he’s not like professional organist, although he’s really good he does not have to play all six sonatas.

V:  No no, not at this time of course.

A:  Yes, and you know, maybe I would suggest him to play other trios by J.S. Bach or other Baroque composers if he’s interested in trio…

V:  ..trio texture.

A: …trio texture.  Or Romantic trios - that would be something different and still would have similar challenges.  But the trios are always hard, because it tears your brain apart. And I think that you can never feel really comfortable while playing trio.  That’s a risk we all have to take.

V:  Right.  So what other trios that he could try playing besides Trio Sonatas?  Chorale preludes…

A:  Yes!

V:  By Bach for example.

A:  Yes, like based on Allein Gott in der höh sei Ehr.

V:  From the Clavierübung.

A:  Yes, and because there is one in A Major and one in G Major - G Major is from the third part of Clavierübung and…

V:  A Major is from the Leipzig…

A:  Leipzig Chorales, yes.  They are really beautiful.  And there are others in the Leipzig settings, like the one in G Major, how it’s called - Jesu Christus, Unser Herr?  Or…

V:  I don’t remember the title, but yeah, one of them is in G Major.

A:  And I played it, but I already forgot the title.  Ha ha!

V:  And also other composers like Kirnberger and he could… Krebs, of course.  Krebs wrote many trios.  And Benas could take a look at two of my favorite YouTube channels for early music, Partitura Organum, and Ralph Looij. They both play a lot of Baroque chorale preludes, and a lot of them are in trio texture. And some of them are not well known at all.  And Romantic  trios, of course Rheinberger, and Rudnick which we had already discovered earlier, and probably Merkel.

A:  Yes, that’s true.  And I remember that title of that G Major trio that I was talking - Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend.

V:  Ok, beautiful.  So lots of pieces to choose from.  But I wouldn’t say that Trio Sonatas need to be avoided or something, because they really teach you great hand and feet independence, and it’s all required at the conservatory level, at least one movement.

A:  Yes.

V:  So that was probably your initial idea.

A:  Sure, sure.

V:  To initiate Benas into classical organ training at the academy level.

A:  Yes, that’s why I gave him to play the big piece by J.S. Bach, Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, and Trio Sonata, and you know, French Toccata, because these are all pieces that shows up that you are self confident organist and can know play the style repertoire.

V:  And of course Trio Sonatas are of course a major part of any organ competition.

A:  Now what I really think what he needs to do is play some modern music, he needs to play Messiaen, or maybe Jean Langlais, or something…

V:  Something by French composers, because he already did…

A:  And something modern.

V:  He already played Rheinberger, which is good introduction to…

A:  But it’s Romantic in style.  Now he needs to do some really hard like, rhythmic work where you need to count…Like subdivide really, something outside of like that, you know, classical tonality.

V:  He played the famous Dubois Toccata at one point, but of course, we need later music for him to choose.

A:  Since our next concert will be in December, I was just maybe La Nativite?

V:  Some of the meditations.

A:  Yes, yes.

V:  Yeah, definitely good choice.  Yeah, Benas is very promising young student, and he’s been playing organ with us for a number of years now.

A:  Yes, and to answer his question, what should he do while he would like to play Trio Sonatas or trios again, I would say he needs to…

V:  Take a break.

A:  Take a break, yes.  And I think that gradually the day will come that he will want to turn back to playing trios.

V:  Yeah.  And as you suggested, just one movement would be enough probably.  Like we suggested earlier, one trio chorale prelude would be enough, or one movement of a Trio Sonata.  But not necessarily entire Trio Sonata in three movements.  That of course is a beautiful goal, but not with every concert.

A:  Definitely not.

V:  All right, guys.  Please send us more of your questions.  We love helping you grow.  And remember, when you practice,

A: Miracles happen.

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Trio Sonata No. 1 in Eb Major, BWV 525 by Bach with fingering and pedaling: https://secrets-of-organ-playing.myshopify.com/products/trio-sonata-in-eb-major-bwv-525-by-bach?_pos=1&_sid=a4ab43be2&_ss=r

Dear friends,
​
Here's what we found worth sharing with you this week:

1. SOPP729: Is there a way Total Organist would help me develop my skills faster than where I’m at now?
2. Prelude in G (Dorian) III by Franz Tunder with fingering and pedaling
3. Learn with Vidas - How to Improvise a Suite on Veni Creator Gregorian Chant Tune
4. Live Organ Music - On the Bench with Vidas No. 44 | 2025-05-23
5. Georg Böhm - Prelude in F Major | VU Aula Parva
6. Johann Strauss Jr. - Künsterleben Waltz, Op. 316 (Organ Duet) | VU St. John's Church
7. Nils Wilhelm Gade - Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern | VU St. John's Church
8. Vidas Pinkevicius - Inner Radiance, Op. 310 (Organ Solo)
9. Per aspera ad astra (Piano Improvisation)
10. Vidas Pinkevicius - Streams of Mercy, Op. 309 (Organ Solo)
11. Vidas Pinkevicius - Kyrie of the Heart, Op. 308 (Organ Solo)
12. Vidas Pinkevicius - Echoes of the Divine, Op. 307 (Organ Solo)
13. Vidas Pinkevicius - Grace Descending, Op. 306 (Organ Solo)
14. Vidas Pinkevicius - Voices from the Depths, Op. 305 (Organ Solo)
15. Vidas Pinkevicius - Sanctuary of Silence, Op. 304 (Organ Solo)

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And remember, when you practice, miracles happen!
Vidas and Ausra
​​www.organduo.lt