What's New
Weiwuying's First Solo Organ Album World Release
Taking the organ to its limits
After coming to prominence as resident organist of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Iveta APKALNA has most recently been to the Far East, where in 2018 she inaugurated Asia's largest concert organ in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Since then, she has been strongly connected with the Weiwuying organ. In January 2020, Iveta returned to Taiwan as the first international organist for “Weiwuying Pipe Organ Recording Project”. The recording is produced by the prestigious European recording company Berlin Classics, Grammy Award-winning sound engineer JENS Schünemann, and Golden Melody Award winner YOU Zi-ze.
Largest pipe organ in Asia
It is an impressive instrument: Almost 10,000 pipes in over 120 registers, located in a twin organ. On the right-hand half of the stage is the great symphonic organ, which recreates the aesthetic timbre of the French Romantic style. And on the left there is the smaller “echo organ”, oriented on the German Baroque repertoire. On this new album, Iveta APKALNA has compiled a programme that unites the two organs by placing the focus on the French Romantic style and making a brief foray to the father of organ music, J.S. Bach.
Track List
Charles-Marie WIDOR: Symphony No. 5 in f minor, Op. 42/1
Louis Victor VIERNE: Symphony No. 3 in f-sharp minor, Op. 28
Johann Sebastian BACH "Sheep may safely graze" ( from BWV 208)
World Release
Imported from Germany, Pricing: Ntd 550
(Include organ-introduction poster)
Program
Charles-Marie Widor's Fifth Symphony in F minor takes the organist back to her student days and a very special solo recital that made a dream come true. After winning an important competition at the age of 20, she was able to play on what had always been her dream organ, the famous Walcker organ in Riga Cathedral. Iveta APKALNA describes that concert as her baptism as an organist. "That all came back to me when I played the work, I had it in my head the whole time,” she recalls.
The second part of her programme features Vierne's Third Organ Symphony. “Vierne's language sounds more modern,” says Iveta APKALNA of this music, “it is technically more ambitious, it is harder to sing and bring out the levels of his music.” Where harmony is concerned, Vierne's chromatic passages are a prominent feature that is lacking in Widor, whose clear tonal language was soon regarded as dated in the 20th century. “The chromaticism leads into the unknown. You lose your orientation and your balance; Widor is different in that respect,“ Iveta APKALNA comments. The form of the organ symphony pioneered by Franck and developed by Widor reaches its apogee with Vierne.
The closing piece on the album – a tribute to the special twin organ in Kaohsiung and a memory of probably the greatest benchmark for all organists – is by Johann Sebastian Bach, with the famous melody “Sheep may safely graze”. Here too, Iveta Apkalna reflects: “It is like a woman who makes herself chic, but feels ill at ease because she has forgotten her perfume. Bach is my perfume, he makes me feel complete.”
Artist Introduction
Iveta APKALNA
Latvian organist Iveta APKALNA is considered one of the leading instrumentalists in the world. Since 2017 she has served as the titular organist of the Klais organ at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany.
The January 2017 opening offerd two world premieres: Wolfgang Rihm's Triptychon und Spruch in memoriam Hans Henny JAHNN with Thomas HENGELBROCK and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Jörg Widmann's ARCHE with Kent NAGANO and the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg. Most recently, she has released her new CD “Light & Dark”, the first solo album recorded on the Klais organ at the Elbphilharmonie, produced by the label Berlin Classics.
Iveta APKALNA has earned international recognition for honours and competitions. In March 2018 she received the “Latvian Grand Music Award”, the most prestigious award in music in Latvia, in the categories “Musician of the Year” and “Concert of the Year”. Furthermore, she was appointed cultural ambassador of Latvia by receiving the “Excellence Award in Culture 2015” from the Latvian Ministry of Culture. Iveta APKALNA became the first organist to receive the title of “Best Performing Artist” award at the 2005 ECHO Klassik.
She is dedicated to contemporary music and performs works of Naji HAKIM, Ēriks ESENVALDS, Arturs MASKATS or Thierry ESCAICH. Together with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam she presented the world premiere of “Multiversum”, a commissioned composition of Péter Eötvös, on an extensive Europe tour in Autumn 2017. Together with the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Péter Eötvös, she will perform this work again in February 2019 at the Southbank Centre in London. Further world premieres will follow in the near future with works by Pascal Dusapin, Philipp Glass and Pēteris Vasks.
Born in Rēzekne, Latvia, Iveta has made it her mission to bring the splendour of organ music beyond church walls and into concert halls. She currently lives in Berlin and in Riga.
