Niguliste Organ Week
The 36th International Niguliste Organ Week 1‒7 January 2024. During the first week of the new year, concerts accompanied by a diverse audience programme will take place in the Niguliste church, renowned for its beauty and wonderful acoustics.
Every day from 2 January to 7 January, it is possible to visit the organ balcony with the organist Andres Uibo. Organ music half-hours will take place at 4 pm.
Niguliste has been the centre of Estonian organ music since 1987, when the first organ week was held. It turned out to be hugely successful and has since grown into an international organ festival.
From the very beginning, the initiator, leader and creative director of the Niguliste Organ Week has been Professor Andres Uibo.
You are invited to begin the new year with a festive musical week in the Niguliste Museum!
Gallery
Evening concerts
Monday, 1 January at 5 pm
Doubly majestic. Two trumpets and two organs
An organ with a trumpet has always been regarded as a majestic combination because these two instruments have often embellished the most festive events at European royal courts.
Priit Aimla and Samuel Jalakas on trumpets, and Andres Uibo and Kadri Toomoja on organs will play music by Purcell, Bach, Mozart, Sibelius and Charpentier.
Tuesday, 2 January at 6 pm
Three cellists – Aare Tammesalu, Johannes Sarapuu and Andreas Lend – will play solo pieces for the cello by Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi.
Wednesday, 3 January at 6 pm
The renowned French organist Edouard Oganessian will perform organ music by the great Hungarian composer Ferenc Liszt. In addition to original pieces, the concert will include transcriptions by the organist himself.
Thursday, 4 January at 6 pm
The baroque music ensemble LaBande will perform their programme Come Back, Zefiro.
The ensemble consists of Helis Naeris and Johanna Maria Ernesaks (vocals), Melissa Jõesaar (baroque violin), Tõnu Jõesaar (viola da gamba) and Kristiina Are (harpsichord).
Music by: Monteverdi, Stradella and Vivaldi
Friday, 5 January at 6 pm
Concert-performance: Bach and Marchand’s Face-off in Dresden.
The text will be read by Harry Liivrand, with Toomas Trass performing as Bach and the French organist Edouard Oganessian as Marchand.
Saturday, 6 January at 6 pm
The organist Levente Kuzma from Hungary will perform music by Guy Ropartz, Max Reger, Louis Vierne and his compatriot Zoltán Kodály on the Rieger-Kloss main organ of Niguliste.
Sunday, 7 January at 6 pm
The concert will include five organ pieces by Beethoven and six church sonatas for the organ and a small orchestra by Mozart. This wonderful music will be brought to listeners by the organists Levente Kuzma, Aivars Kalējs, Kadri Toomoja and Andres Uibo, who will be accompanied by a chamber orchestra.
Organ music by Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart can not often be heard at concerts, yet the organ was the favourite musical instrument of both of them.
