Two great symphonic organ concertos can be heard on the new CD from BR-KLASSIK: the famous Organ Symphony by Camille Saint-Saëns and the lesser-known but highly impressive Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani by Francis Poulenc.

In his Symphony no.3 in C minor, op.78, the so-called ”Organ Symphony” of 1886, Saint-Saëns succeeded in integrating the organ into the musical fabric of a symphonic work. It is a “symphony with organ", rather than a concerto for solo organ and orchestra.

Poulenc's Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani in G minor, Poulenc's only work for the organ, was composed in 1938 at the request of a female patron. At a time when it was no longer customary to present a solo concerto for organ, the work - with its unusual choice of instruments - is a tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach. In contrast to Bach's organ compositions, Poulenc wrote for a large organ that could achieve impressive sound effects. The concerto, first performed by Maurice Duruflé, is today one of Poulenc's most-performed works.

The Latvian concert organist Iveta Apkalna, who in 2005 was the first organist to receive an ECHO Klassik award, debuted in 2007 with the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado and has performed all over the world ever since. As the titular organist of the new Klais organ at the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, she played at the opening of the new concert hall in 2017 with world premieres of works by Wolfgang Rihm, together with Thomas Hengelbrock and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. In 2018, she received prestigious music awards in Latvia in the “Musician of the Year” and “Concert of the Year” categories, and that same year, as part of the centennial celebrations of the Republic of Latvia, she was awarded the highest state order of merit in the country.

Live recording: Munich, Philharmonie im Gasteig, 11–15 March 2019