26th International Festival “The Days of Organ – Dies organorum”: MARTIN RICCABONA

Austrian organist Martin Riccabona (Linz / Bayreuth) will present special program with the title “Bach as arranger”. He will discus on the same subject with organ students in Belgrade as part of the educational program of the Festival. His visit to Belgrade is supported by Austrian Cultural Forum in Belgrade.

Program:
Bach as arranger

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Concerto for solo organ No. 5 in D minor, BWV 596 (after a Concerto for strings, Op. 3/11 by Antonio Vivaldi)
(Allegro) – Grave – Fuga
Largo e spiccato
(Allegro)

Six Schübler Chorales, chorale preludes for organ, BWV 645–650
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645
Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten, BWV 647

Concerto for solo organ No. 1 in G major, BWV 592 (after a Concerto for strings by Prince Johann-Ernst of Saxony-Weimar)
(Allegro)
Grave
Presto

Six Schübler Chorales, chorale preludes for organ, BWV 645–650
Wo soll ich fliehen hin, BWV 646
Kommst du nun Jesu, vom Himmel herunter auf Erden, BWV 650

Fugue in D minor, BWV 539/2 (after the 2nd movement of the Partita in G minor, BWV 1004 for solo violin) after Sonata for solo violin in G minor, BWV 1001

Six Schübler Chorales, chorale preludes for organ, BWV 645–650
Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 649
Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, BWV 648

Concerto for solo organ No. 2 in A minor, BWV 593 (after a Concerto for strings, Op. 3/8 by Antonio Vivaldi)
(Allegro)
Adagio
Allegro

Biography:
Martin Riccabona (1993, Hall in Tyrol, Austria), after taking piano and organ lessons in Innsbruck, came to the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität in Linz as a junior student in the fall of 2009. There he studied organ  with Brett Leighton and harpsichord with Jörg Halubek & Brett Leighton. He spent the 2013/14 academic year at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg (organ with Wolfgang Zerer and Pieter van Dijk) via the Erasmus student exchange program. From 2016 to 2018 he completed a master’s degree in organ with Bernhard Haas at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich, and from 2018 to 2021 a master’s degree in harpsichord with Erich Traxler and Augusta Campagne at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. He received further impulses and inspiration through lessons with Bernadetta Šuňavská (organ), Menno van Delft (harpsichord and clavichord), Rudolf Jungwirth, Wolfgang Hörlin and Patrick Ayrton (improvisation), as well as at numerous seminars and master classes, among others with Michael Radulescu, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, Andrés Cea Galan, Christopher Stembridge, Louis Robilliard, Massimiliano Raschietti, Ben van Oosten (organ) and Christine Schornsheim (harpsichord).
He is 2nd prize winner of the International Organ Competition Daniel Herz in Brixen (2012), Paul Hofhaimer in Innsbruck (2013) and Schnitger in Alkmaar (2017) and winner of the Grand Prix d’ECHO in Freiberg 2014, which earned him the title “Young ECHO Organist of the Year 2015”. In 2017, he won the Nibelungen Competition of the Lions Club Linz.
As a soloist he performs at various concert series and organ festivals (including Treviso/I, Toulouse/F, Freiberg/D, Fribourg/CH, Trondheim/N, Alkmaar/NL, Brussels/B), particularly on the important historical organs of Europe. In addition, he regularly performs on organ and harpsichord as a church and chamber music continuo player as well as in oratorio and opera productions. His playing has been documented in contributions for radio and television and on CD.
Martin Riccabona is deeply involved in instrument building issues and regularly participates as a consultant in organ building projects. Since its completion in 2018, he has been custodian of the new concert hall organ in the Linz Brucknerhaus, whose planning and construction he accompanied as a member of the organ commission. There he is successful co-worker for numerous events around the organ, especially for children.
From 2019-2023 he was teacher for organ, harpsichord and harpsichord accompaniment at the Music School of the City of Linz. In 2021/22 he held teaching positions for organ and basso continuo at the Munich University of Music and the Bruckner University in Linz. Since March 2023 he has been professor of organ at the University of Protestant Church Music in Bayreuth (Bavaria).
martin-riccabona.com

photo credit: Reinhard Winkler
photo credit, previous page:Teresa Pewal