10 April - Pavel Kohout

VCH ORGAN SERIES 16/17

PAVEL KOHOUT 10 APR 2017 MON VICTORIA CONCERT HALL

MON, 10 APRIL 2017 VICTORIA CONCERT HALL

VCH ORGAN SERIES: PAVEL KOHOUT Pavel Kohout, organ DIETERICH BUXTEHUDE Toccata in F major, BuxWV157 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048 HERMANN GABRIEL KUMMER Variations on Paganini's Theme for Solo Pedal THÉODORE DUBOIS Toccata from Douze Pièces pour Orgue (1889) In Paradisum from Douze Pièces Nouvelles pour Orgue (1893) CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR Finale from 2nd Organ Symphony for Grand Organ, Op. 13

PAVEL KOHOUT Winner of both the prestigious First Prize and the J. S. Bach Prize at the one of the world's largest international organ competition Musashino – Tokyo 2000, Pavel Kohout is regarded today as one of the most brilliant representatives of the new generation of European concert artists.

Pavel Kohout graduated from the Prague Conservatory and the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under the guidance of Jaroslav Tůma. From 1999 he continued his studies in historical organ technique at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the Netherlands with renowned specialist Jacques van Oortmerssen.

In 2010 he obtained degree doctor philosophiae in historical performance practice of the South German and Czech baroque organ music at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

Pavel Kohout has won a number of prizes at international organ

competitions including first prizes at international contests in Ljubljana 1998 and Vilnius 1999 and several other special awards including the "Dancing Angel" prize of the European Music Competition for Youth.

As a concert organist, pianist and orchestra´s soloist, Pavel Kohout performs throughout entire Europe, Russia, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. His further activities include an ongoing collaboration with Czech National Radio for the project "Historical Organs", presents international master classes, act as juror and continues recording on diverse CDs.

PROGRAMME NOTES

DIETERICH BUXTEHUDE (1637-1707) Toccata in F major, BuxWV157

As the organist of St. Mary’s Church in Luebeck, Germany, Buxtehude’s fame was widespread throughout Germany.

Bach felt inspired to hear him play, and in 1705 and walked a distance of 300km to listen to his playing. Buxtehude’s “fantastic” style of writing (stylus phantasticus) is one of the hallmarks of 18 th century Northern German organ music. The flamboyant Toccata in F major opens with a showy, improvisatory passage, followed by a series of chords and dramatic, rising and falling gestures. The second half of the piece presents a series of imitations as in a fugue.

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048 The Brandenburg Concertos are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721, probably for an audition as court musician. Each of the concerti has a different focus on the instruments highlighted. The Third Brandenburg Concerto departs from the usual concerto grosso idea of a solo group set apart from the orchestra, and instead treats all in the ensemble as independent solo voices: three violins, three violas and three cellos, supported

by a continuo group of bass and harpsichord. The first movement can also be found in a rescored form in the opening sinfonia of his cantata Ich liebe den Höchsten von ganzem Gemüte. The second movement consists of only two chords that make up a Phrygian half cadence. This is rather unusual, and perhaps it was meant to signal an extended improvisation (a cadenza) by the harpsichord player. The third movement is in an energetic, two-part dance form, where each group of instruments exchange busy dialogues with each other. The version of the Third Concerto in today’s performance has been transcribed for solo organ.

HERMANN GABRIEL KUMMER (1930-2008)

Variations on Paganini's Theme for Solo Pedal Niccolò Paganini is a name every violinist knows today, yet he was relatively unknown outside his native Italy during his time. Little did he expect that a tune which he published in 1820 was to capture the attention of audiences and composers over the next two centuries. Kummer, a German cellist and composer, set Paganini’s famous Caprice No. 24 for violin for organ pedal solo. The theme unfolds in various styles over thirteen variations – chords, counterpoint, glissandi (slides) in different speeds, characters and moods. The last variation is a brilliant display of virtuosic passages for the

feet, encompassing the whole pedalboard. Indeed, the organ version of this famous piece is a musical feast for both eye and ear.

THÉODORE DUBOIS (1837-1924) Toccata from Douze Pièces pour Orgue (1889) Théodore Dubois is relatively unknown today, save for a number of organ works, an oratorio, and theoretical texts. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning the Prix de Rome in 1861; in 1877 he succeeded Saint-Saëns as organist at the Church of La Madeleine, and in 1896 became Director of the Conservatoire. The two collections Douze Pièces and Douze Pièces Nouvelles were written for organ or pedal piano (a piano with a pedalboard like that of an organ, used in the 19 th century as a practice instrument for organists). The Toccata in G major opens with a busy passage of notes in allegro for the manuals with occasional pedal notes. A more serious succession of chord progressions follow – which are interrupted a number of times by the opening flurries. The opening bustle then returns, and the piece ends with a majestic recapitulation, using motives from the second section.

In Paradisum from Douze Pièces Nouvelles pour Orgue (1893) This collection of 12 pieces comes from a period when Dubois served as

organist at La Madeleine. In paradisum, the ninth piece, presents a dreamy, lyrical melody floating over an undulating accompaniment, evoking an image of heavenly peace and the flutter of angels’ wings. A contrasting theme occurs in the middle section as a series of chords, and is later interspersed with the undulating patterns.

CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR (1844-1937)

Finale from 2nd Organ Symphony for Grand Organ, Op. 13 The Organ Symphony is associated with French music of the Romantic period. Thanks to the innovative organ building ideas of the French builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, organists had at their disposal a new variety of stops to create diverse musical landscapes, dramatic changes of volume and expression. In short, organists could almost exploit, or “orchestrate” musical colours from the organ in the way that conductors expect from a symphony orchestra. This new “symphonic organ” opened the door for the creation of large-scale works with a number of contrasting movements. The Finale from Symphony No. 2 is a grand toccata with streams of brass-like fanfares in the manuals and other figurations which are further energised by repeated patterns in the pedals.

Programme notes by Evelyn Lim

THE KLAIS ORGAN First installed in 1987, the Victoria Concert Hall’s Klais organ was purchased through fundraising efforts from the then-newly formed SSO Ladies’ League as a replacement for the St. Clair organ that had been built some 50 years earlier in 1931. The St. Clair organ was named after Major W. G. St. Clair, founder of the old Philharmonic Society and the first editor of the Singapore Free Press, and its façade was retained after the installation of the Klais organ.

In 2010, with the redevelopment of the Victoria Concert Hall and Victoria Theatre, the organ – consisting of a total of 2,012 pipes – was methodically removed piece by piece, repaired and stored in climate-controlled warehouses during the refurbishment period.

Being the only mechanical organ in Singapore, the Klais organ has strong emotional links with generations of

audiences and many donors and supporters of classical music, notably the Lee Foundation, who have stepped forward to provide financial support for the restoration.

When the Victoria Concert Hall reopened in the second half of 2014, the organ once again took centrestage, providing awe-inspiring and delicate strains of music to old and new audiences.

Our heartfelt thanks to all donors who have graciously contributed towards the organ restoration project.

We would like to thank the following organisations and individuals for donating towards the restoration of the Klais Organ.

Lee Foundation, Singapore Goh Yew Lin Far East Organization Ho Ching Mrs Christina Ong Low Check Kian Tan Kong Piat (Pte) Ltd Tow Heng Tan Bernard Tan Tiong Gie Winston Hauw Michael Koh Ann Kheng Richard P Armstrong Joseph Grimberg One North Capital Pte Ltd Tan Corporate Advisory Pte Ltd United Overseas Bank Ltd

Leong Wai Leng Wing Tai Holdings Limited Yeoh Chee Yan ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited Paul A. J. Supramaniam Auric Pacific Group Limited Heidrick & Struggles Bryan Manaf Ghows Santa Lucia Asset Management Andreas Sohmen-Pao Tan Boon Ngee American Women’s Association Chng Hak-Peng Dr Warren Lee’s Paediatrics Growth & Diabetes Centre Pte Ltd

ABOUT THE KLAIS ORGAN Mechanical Stop and Keyboard Action Windpressure: MANUALS: 100mm PEDAL: 120mm 3 Manual Combination Pedals Builder: Klais, Bonn 1987

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