secrets of organ playing - when you practice, miracles happen
  • HOME
  • BLOG
  • STORE
  • TOTAL ORGANIST
  • TOOLS
  • YOUTUBE
  • COMPOSITIONS
  • COACHING
  • ABOUT
  • RECITALS
  • PHOTOS
  • CONTACT
  • LOGIN
  • LT
  • AUSRA'S YOUTUBE

SOP Podcast 79 - Tore Bjorn Larsen On Choosing To Be An Organist - Composer, Creating With Pencil On Paper, And Connecting Organists In Organ Festivals

1/29/2017

Comments

 
Picture
​Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #79!

Today's guest is organist and composer Tore Bjorn Larsen from Svendborg, Denmark. He grew up in the north of Sweden in the family of Norwegian mother and Danish father.

Tore received A-diploma from DKDM
(The Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen) in 1987 where he studied with cathedral organist Poul Børch, Odense, and Bo Grønbech, Elsinore (organ), and Ole Wierød (choir). Later he attended masterclasses led by Hans Haselböck, Harald Vogel, Daniel Roth and Michael Radulescu. 1978-2000 he was an organist on the countryside: Ollerup and Kirkeby churches in the south of Funen and in the period 1984-92 also was the assistant organist for the Cathedral organist at the Dome, St. Knuds church, Odense, Funen.

From 2000 he was an organist at Helligaandskirken in Faaborg. Since 2002 he has been an organist and choirmaster (cantor) at St. Nicolai church in Svendborg. He has given many concerts both inside the country and abroad, both as soloist and with the choirs.

Tore has been teaching students in Løgumkloster Kirkemusikskole since 1991, and he has also done a lot of different classes in the regi of ’Dansk Kirkemusiker Forening’. From 2007 he is ”Kirkeministeriets eksterne censor” (The Danish Ministery of the Churchs censor) at all of the state of Denmarks schools of church music.

Tore has also a Music theory Diploma from Det Fynske Musikkonservatorium in 1997, and a  Diploma in Composition from ”Det Fynske Musikkonservatorium” in 1998, afterwards he continued for the soloistclass at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen; his tutor was the well-known Hans Abrahamsen, and Tore had his debut as composer in the year of 2000. Tore has a list of opus with about 100 pieces, some of them you can find on Edition Egtved.

In 1985 Tore started ”Lille Sydfynsk Orgelfestival” (The Little Organfestival of Funen). In 1998 he recevied ”The Prize of Egebjerg” for this. From 1995 until 2002 he was the Secretary in the  organisation of ”The International Organ Competition & Festival, Odense”. From 1996 until 2003 he was member of the board in ”Ny Musik Odense (NMO) (”New Music in Odense”) From 1997 until 2003 he was the assistant at the festival, MUSICA SACRA NOVA, Odense. From 2000 until 2003 artistic leader and composer for Ensemble Fyn (prestiged as FYNS AMTS MUSICNAME of the year 2002). By now he also is a member of the board at ”Svendborg Kammermusikforening”.

Tore is the driving force behind ”Svendborg Internationale Orgelfestival” and of all the noon-concerts in Svendborg.​

​In this conversation Tore talks about choosing to be an organist-composer, creating with pencil on paper, and connecting organists in organ festivals.

Enjoy and share your comments below.
​
And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends.

Thanks for caring.

For questions related to Tore's music and work, you can contact him by email:
[email protected]
​

​Relevant link:
St. Nikolai church
Comments

SOP Podcast 78 - Jean-Paul Imbert on Lessons From the Great Masters, Playing for Ski Tourists And Organ Transcriptions

1/22/2017

Comments

 
Picture
​Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #78!

Today's guest is Jean-Paul IMBERT, organist from France. Born in Clermont-Ferrand in 1942, he studied piano and organ : at the early age of 15 he was appointed organist of the  church of Sainte Jeanne d’Arc. In Paris he studied with Pierre Cochereau and Jean Guillou whose assistant he was from 1971 to 1993 in Saint-Eustache.

In 1993, he was appointed as organist on the Kleuker instrument of
Notre-Dame des Neiges in Alpe d’Huez and was responsible for organizing concerts with organists from all over the world. Since 1988, he has organised workshops there with students from different countries and schools.
 
These workshops were developed into training courses with musicians such as Cornel Pana, who teaches Pan flute, and conductor and violonist Christian Ciuca for courses in high standards of choral singing ; operatic performers such as Jean Louis Serre and Marie-Therese Keller. 
 
Since 1999 he has taught every year at Bad-Rippoldsau in the Black Forest.
 
From 1997 to 2006 he was the organist in the Basilica of Notre Dame du Perpétuel Secours in Paris where he contributed largely to the reputation of this magnificent contemporary instrument by organizing a series of concerts « Organ in Duet », but also at the time of it’s official  inauguration with the orchestra of the Schola Cantorum conducted by Michel Denis in September 2004. He made several recordings on that organ .
 
Since 1982 he taught at the Schola Cantorum, and his classes have produced a number of artists of international repute.
 
His concerts have seen him mostly in Europe where he intrigued the public with his innovative registration, exploring all the possibilities offered by the instruments.

He has taken part in the most renown festivals: Caen, Chartres, Radio-France, Ravenna, Torino, Cambridge, Rome, Roquevaire, Bordeaux, Moscow, Freiburg in Brisgau, Gdansk-Oliwa, Portsmouth, Lausanne. He has a strong passion for Bach, and also the romantic school, and his interpretations are always colourful and lively. He has written a number of transcriptions of works by Prokoviev, Rachmaninov, Grieg, Liszt, Verdi, and Wagner.
 
He has received distinctions such as "Officier des Arts et des Lettres" from the minister for Culture in 2010 and in 2014 was awarded the "Palmes Academiques" by the minister for Education.
 
His discography includes magnificent instruments: Saint-Eustache in Paris, Tonhalle of Zürich, Saint-Sernin in Toulouse, Saint-Etienne de Caen, Saint-Bonaventure of Lyon, Notre-Dame des Neiges in Alpe d’Huez, Notre-Dame du Perpétuel Secours in Paris.

​He has recorded not only a number of little known and rarely played works, but also transcriptions of great orchestral works, some of them written by him. For some recordings he received awards such as The Academie Charles Cros. There are also recordings of duets with the trumpeter Guy Touvron, the oboist Antoine Sebillote and the flutist Gabriel Fumet.

In this conversation Diego talks the lessons he learned from the great masters, playing organ for ski tourists and arranging organ transcriptions.

Enjoy and share your comments below.
​
And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends.

Thanks for caring.

Relevant links:
http://imbertjeanpaul.fr
A short film about Alpe d’Huez
Comments

SOP Podcast #77 - Diego Innocenzi on the Organ Culture in Argentina

1/15/2017

Comments

 
Picture
Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #77!

Today's guest is Diego Innocenzi who is the resident organist of the Victoria Hall as well as of the temples of Saint-Gervais in Geneva and Vandœuvres. He also teaches the organ at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève.

Born in Argentina in 1971, Diego Innocenzi began his musical studies in Buenos Aires where he graduated in piano and was the organist of the Cavaillé-Coll organ of the Cathedral of San Isidro, his hometown. He
continued his studies at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève in  Lionel Rogg’s class where he won a first prize for virtuosity in 1999 and later with Marie-Claire Alain in Paris. Afterwards, he entered the choral direction class led by Michel Corboz at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, where he obtained his choirmaster diploma in 2003.

For many years, Diego Innocenzi has been conducting research on the historical interpretation of sacred music and organ repertoire of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries which has led him to give lectures and master classes in Europe and the United States of America. These investigations resulted in several recordings of mostly unpublished works for the label Aeolus: complete vocal works with organ by César Franck in two volumes in collaboration with Les Solistes de Lyon-Bernard Tétu; a double album of unpublished works for organ by Edouard Batiste; chamber music with organ by Theodore Dubois.

​In order to renew the form of organ and sacred music concerts he organized the Fall Festival in Vandœuvres devoted to chamber music with organ (2002-2010), cycles of choral services and cantata services, organ marathons during the Fête de la musique in Geneva, a Psalms festival in the context of Calvin-09 and several shows combining contemporary dance, video projection and organ.

​Diego Innocenzi has performed worldwide, in Europe, the United States of America, Latin America and Russia. He is currently the artistic director of the Chamonix Festival and he is the musical programmer of the Centro Cultural Nestor Kirchner’s organ in Buenos Aires.

In this conversation Diego talks the organ culture in Argentina. It's a very fascinating conversation and you'll find a lot of inspiration, especially if you're looking for ways to promote the organ art in your country.

Enjoy and share your comments below.
​
And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends.

Thanks for caring.

Relevant link:

​www.diegoinnocenzi.com
Comments

SOP Podcast #76 - Marco Lo Muscio on Organ Recordings, Rock Music, and Transcriptions

1/8/2017

Comments

 
Picture
Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #76!

Today's guest is an Italian concert organist Marco Lo Muscio. Marco is one of the most versatile musicians of his generation: organist, pianist, composer. Marco cooperates for recordings and concerts with
He graduated in piano with full honours “Cum Laude” at "Licinio Refice" academy of music guided by Maestro Tonino Maiorani, and later studied for three years with the great pianist Sergio Fiorentino (1927-1998) attaining the Diploma of Advanced Studies with full honours at the academy "Bartolomeo Cristofori". He also graduated in Pedagogy "Cum Laude", guided by prof. Giulio Sforza, in the University of "Rome Tre" (degree thesis on Keith Jarrett and Glenn Gould), and in organ with prof. James Edward Goettsche (Main Organist of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican). Marco is the first musician who has brought transcriptions of 'progressive music' into the concert halls and cathedrals, thrilling audiences with music by composers like Kieth Emerson, Rick Wakeman and Steve Hackett (Genesis) in this acoustic way. Marco's compositions are similarly 'progressive' in their own way. 
Picture
He has given more than 700 concerts as part of organ and piano festivals at important venues such as: United Kingdom: Cambridge “King's, St. John's and Queens' College Chapels”; Oxford “Exeter and Queens' College Chapels”; Temple Church, Methodist Concert Hall, Westminster and St. Paul's Cathedrals in London, Hull City Hall, St. Martin Church in Salisbury, and in the cathedrals of Canterbuty, Lincoln, Lichfield, Chester, Blackburn, Rochester, Gloucester, Truro, St. David and Sheffield; Festival in the Shire (dedicated to Tolkien) in Wales. Russia: “Grand Hall of Philharmonia Shostakovic” in St. Petersburg; Glinka Capella in St. Petersburg; Italian institute of culture in St. Petersburg; Svetlanov Hall (House of the Music), St. Mary Cathedral, Gnessin Academy and Baptist Church in Moscow; Volgograd (Stalingrad) Philharmonic Hall; in the Organ Halls in Chelyabinsk, Archangelsk, Kondopoga, Dubna, Kislovosk, Kirov; USA: New York (St. Thomas Church - Fifth Avenue, Central Synagogue in Manhattan and Barnard College), Boston (Trinity Church) ,Chicago (St. John Cantius), Washington (National City Christian Church), Milwaukee (Cathedral, St. Cyril and Methodius); Baltic Counties: Riga Cathedral (Latvia) “Riga Dom Festival”; Vilnius (Lithuania) “Christopher Summer Festival”; Tallinn (Estonia) “International Organ Festival”. Finland: Helsinki “ Church of Rock”, Tyyki Jazz Festival, and cathedrals of Turku, Lahti and Mikkeli. Scotland: in the St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh and in the Memorial Chapel in Glasgow University. Switzerland: St. Peter and Paul Cathedral and Hammond Organ museum in Zurich. Denmark: Copenhagen in the Holmens Kirche (the church of Queen of Denmark) and Sorø International Music Festival. Norway: Bergen Organ summer festival in the Maria and Johannes churches; Oslo: Røa Kirke International Festival and Italian institute of culture; Molde Cathedral. Sweden: Götheborg and Uppsala Cathedrals. Germany: Nikolai Kirche in Leipzig, Wiesbaden (in the Markt Kirche and St. Bonifatius Kirche), in the Magdeburg Cathedral, Landsberg Festival, in the church of St. Gabriel and St. Holy Spirit in Münich, Ingolstadt, Pforzheim, Immenstadt, Fussen. Poland: “Danzig (Oliwa) and Frombork Festivals”; France (Strasbourg, St. Räphael, Obernai, Paris). And also in: Iceland, Belgium, Palm of Majorca, Ukraine, Portugal, Åland Iceland (XXXI International organ festival), Bornholm Iceland, in the church of St. Nicholas in Prague, in the Seville University in Spain. Vatican: Basilica of St. Peter, Clementina Chapel in the presence of Pope Giovanni Paolo II. Italy: Roma: I.U.C. “Aula Magna of the University La Sapienza”, in the Pantheon, Barberini Palace, Marcello Theatre, Villa Torlonia, St. Paul Basilica, St. Paul within the walls, etc...; Pontino and Euro Mediterraneo Festivals; Florence (churches of St. Maria dei Ricci, e St. Stefano al Ponte Vecchio), La Verna International Organ Festival, Cathedral and Piccolomini Palace in Pienza (with Mario Luzi), “Dusk Day 2008” in the Orvieto Cathedral, St. Antimo Abbey, Cantù International Organ Festival, Fano and Porto San Giorgio internationals organ Festivals, Tolkienian Path Festival in Piemont, Politeatro in Milan, Festival in the Valsesia, Festival “La fabbrica del canto” in Milan, etc…
His performances  have been broadcast in radio and television: BBC TV and Radio, RAI TV, SAT TV2000, Vatican Radio, Russia TV, BR Classik, etc...
Important is also the work of collaboration with projects of Finnish Magazine Colossus and realized from the French label Musea Records: “Rabid Dogs...Opening Themes”, “Dante: Paradise, Divine Comedy Book III”, “Homer: Iliad”, “Tales of Edgar Allan Poe”, “Boccaccio: Decameron”, “Homage to Flower Kings”.
Picture
Marco's music is published by the Italian firm “Erreffe Musica”, and has been played world wide (Europe, Russia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, USA) by renowned musicians such as: Christopher Herrick, Thomas Trotter, John Hackett, Kevin Bowyer, David Briggs, John Scott, Roger Sayer, Stephen Farr, Andrew Canning, Aivars Kalejs, Alessandro Bianchi, Massimo Nosetti, Martin Setchell, Michael Eckerle, Willibald Guggenmos, Fredrik Sixten, Johannes Skudlik, Carson Cooman, Colin Walsh, Andrea Padova, David Jackson, etc.. Many composers have written new pieces dedicated to him: Andreas Willscher, Carson Cooman, Steve Hackett, John Hackett, Grimoaldo Macchia and others. Marco has specialized not only in the classical repertoire but his transcriptions and arrangements of contemporary jazz and Progressive music brought him into contact with big historical names such as Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, David Jackson, John and Steve Hackett. From these contacts are born albums such as "The Book of Bilbo and Gandalf" (dedicated to Tolkien), and his latest CD "Playing the History" recorded with John and Steve Hackett and David Jackson. Since 2004, Marco is the Artistic Director of '"International Summer Organ Festival in Rome." In 2013 he started to recording for the famous British label "Priory Records" on the series "Great European Organs."
​
In this conversation Marco shares his insights about organ recordings, rock music, and transcriptions.

Enjoy and share your comments below.
​
And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends.

Thanks for caring.

Relevant links:
Marco's website: www.marcolomuscio.com
Marco's YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/Gandalf71
Some interesting videos:
Recording session new Priory CD (organ duet): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qp7GgaZLGE
Ricercare Cromatico (with sheet music): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7_Uj_xLjqw
New Litanies (with sheet music): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAv80YqlAcw
Variations on "Gabriel's Message" (with sheet music): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGlzjb985ag
In Memoriam Messiaen (with sheet music): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOTnVTOzJdA
Vaughan Williams: Fantasy on a theme by Thomas Tallis (arr. Lo Muscio): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JCBRSwwFWg
Ligeti: Passacaglia Ungherese (arr. Lo Muscio): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDCRn56piTA
"Lord of the Rings" Recital in Moscow Cathedral (2016): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgSpPvcfk_0
Keith Emerson: Fanfare for the Common man (arr. Lo Muscio): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_RUYooGWpM
Christopher Herrick Plays "Concert Variations on Greensleeves": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9B2pV2k7qY
Steve Hackett & Marco Lo Muscio: "Galadriel": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx7rqdNssoI
Comments

SOP Podcast #75 - Jesse Eschbach on the Stop Lists of Cavaille-Coll Organs

1/1/2017

Comments

 
Picture
Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #75!

Today's guest is an American organist Dr. Jesse Eschbach who is a world-reknown expert on the French organ culture in general and Aristide Cavaille-Coll's organs in particular.

Dr. Eschbach is a graduate of the University of Michigan where he was a student of Robert Glasgow. He completed his formal education during a five-year residency in Paris as a student of Marie-Claire Alain, specializing in early French music in
her conservatory class at Rueil-Malmaison where he was awarded both a Prix d’Excellence and a Prix de Virtuosité.

As one of the very last students of the legendary Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier, he studied the complete organ works of her husband, Maurice Duruflé, as well as much of the French symphonic repertoire.

Since 1986, Eschbach has served on the faculty at the University of North Texas as the full-time Professor of Organ, instructing performance majors at all levels. His students have dominated the annual San Antonio competition since 1995 and have won prizes in national competitions as well.

A very active performer until 1998, Eschbach has several CDs to his credit, including a disc recorded at the Cathédrale de Perpignan entitled “Music of the Second Empire and Beyond”, released in June, 2003.

Also released in 2003 was his 800+ page book, detailing the original stoplists of the majority of organs constructed by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, based extensively on the Lapresté collection. This research is still in progress, and an expanded second edition will be released in the next few years. The first edition received a very positive “feature review” in the March, 2007 issue of The American Organist.

Likewise, his CD recorded on the 1857 Aristide Cavaillé-Coll organ in Perpignan consisting of works by Lemmens, Franck, Gigout, Fessy, Schubert, and Couturier garnered high praise in a February, 2007 review in The Diapason.

Recent tours have taken him to Poland and Italy. He has recently completed assignments adjudicating the preliminary rounds of the AGO National Competition, the Canadian International Organ Competition, and in April 2008, judged the finals of the Fort Wayne National Competition.

​In this conversation we talk about Dr. Eschbach's research on the stop lists of Cavaille-Coll's organs.
​
Enjoy and share your comments below.
​
And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends.

Thanks for caring.

Relevant links:
https://music.unt.edu/faculty-and-staff/jesse-eschbach
Jesse Eschbach: Aristide Cavaille-Coll. A compendium of known stoplists Vol. 1

Comments
    DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.
      Powered By ConvertKit
      Picture

      Author

      Vidas Pinkevicius' conversations with internationally renown experts from the organ world - concert and church organists, improvisers, educators, composers, organ builders, musicologists and other people who help shape the future of our profession. 

      ​Do you have a unique skill or knowledge related to the organ art? Pitch me your story to become a guest on Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast.

      Archives

      November 2017
      October 2017
      September 2017
      August 2017
      July 2017
      June 2017
      May 2017
      April 2017
      March 2017
      February 2017
      January 2017
      December 2016
      November 2016
      October 2016
      September 2016
      August 2016
      July 2016
      June 2016
      May 2016
      April 2016
      March 2016
      February 2016
      January 2016
      December 2015
      November 2015
      October 2015
      September 2015
      August 2015

      RSS Feed

    This site participates in the SheetMusicPlus, Amazon, Thomann and other affiliate programs, the proceeds of which keep it free for anyone to read.
    ​Copyright  © 2011-2025 by Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene.
    ​Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
    • HOME
    • BLOG
    • STORE
    • TOTAL ORGANIST
    • TOOLS
    • YOUTUBE
    • COMPOSITIONS
    • COACHING
    • ABOUT
    • RECITALS
    • PHOTOS
    • CONTACT
    • LOGIN
    • LT
    • AUSRA'S YOUTUBE