A solo recital by an excellent, internationally recognized American organist – Paul Jacobs – is a great opportunity to listen to interpretations of works not only belonging to the canon of the greatest works of music history, but also those less known. The repertoire of the charismatic artist, the first and only organist in history to win a Grammy, will include both old and contemporary compositions.

The evening will begin with the Organ Concerto in F major op. 4 no. 4, written by George Frideric Handel in the spring of 1735 in London. The work belongs to a series of six pieces of this type, modelled on interludes and performed during concert intervals in Handel’s oratorios at Covent Garden. These are the first compositions in this style intended for the organ, which became a model for other composers who wrote for this instrument. We will also listen an organ work enjoying unflagging popularity, by César Franck – not only a gifted composer, but also an excellent instrumentalist and improviser. Prélude, Fugue et Variation op. 18 is a work dedicated to Camille Saint-Saëns, also a distinguished organist. It contains a subtle, melancholic prelude with a singing melodic line typical of Romantic music, an expressive fugue and variations developing the material from the beginning of the composition. Paul Jacobs will next play Prelude and Fugue in D major BWV 532 and Arioso from Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe BWV 156 by Johann Sebastian Bach, created in January 1729 during the composer’s stay in Leipzig, on the third Sunday after Epiphany.

This concert will be an opportunity to get to know two works by lesser-known artists: Dudley Buck and John Weaver. The first was famous mainly for the expressive organ composition Concert Variations on “The Star-Spangled Banner” op. 23, which is based on the melody of the national anthem of the United States. Consisting of a theme, four variations and a fughetta, the piece is a fixture in many recitals by the most eminent artists. Weaver was a professor and privately also a mentor of Paul Jacobs. Fantasia for Organ will be a kind of tribute to the inspiring composer and teacher of generations of organ players, who died last year and who used to emphasise: “Playing the organ should be exciting –- this is the number one rule. And if you have to break all the others, so be it!”.