During her organ recital, Elżbieta Karolak will take the audience on a musical journey through various eras and styles. We will hear masterpieces of Baroque, Classicism and Romantic eras, in addition to works written in the 20th century.

First, we will listen to Dietrich Buxtehude’s Prelude in G minor BuxWV 149. The artist was one of the most important and influential composers and organ virtuosos of the Baroque era. In his youth, Johann Sebastian Bach himself embarked on a 400 km journey from Arnstadt to Lübeck just to listen Buxtehude’s playing.

The output of the Leipzig cantor will be represented by two chorale preludes – the cheerful Vor deinen Thron tret’ ich hiermit BWV 668 and the joyful and energetic Komm Gott, Schöpfer, heiliger Geist BWV 667. The next piece in the programme is the melancholic Fantasy in D minor KV 397 by W. A. Mozart, originally intended for piano. We do not know its original ending – Mozart probably never wrote it, although it may have been lost along with the manuscript of this composition. The most frequently played ending was written by August Eberhard Müller, composer and organist, and an admirer of Mozart’s work.
Feliks Nowowiejski created works of various genres, intended for various line-ups. He was an outstanding organist, known throughout Europe for his performance artistry. He composed nine symphonies for this instrument, which he called his musical testament. The concert programme includes two of his works: Prelude ‘Adoremus’ op. 31 No. 2 and the Roses of St. Therese op. 9 no. 3.

Elżbieta Karolak will perform the monumental Fantasia in A major by César Franck and the Tema e variazioni by Oreste Ravanello. Both artists were highly valued organists. The former was employed in the Basilica of St. Clotilde in Paris, while the latter worked in the Venetian Basilica of St. Mark.