Organ Concert: Johannes Skoog

The worlds of this organ concert are rich in atmospheric colours and magical impressions – and a few mythical figures also play the occasional trick. Born in Stockholm in 1992, Johannes Skoog will bring them to life on the keys and pedals: he won First Prize at the Canadian International Organ Competition in 2024 and was recently appointed organist to the Swedish royal court. He opens his Bamberg programme with Prokofiev’s Toccata from 1912, a »diabolically witty« bravura piece from the classical modern period. Debussy’s sensually vibrant composition was written in 1894 and is characterised by an arabesque-like main motif: a faun revels in beguiling memories of beautiful nymphs on a summer afternoon. Ravel’s virtuoso cycle »Gaspard de la nuit« from 1908 illuminates several figures in impressionistic reflections: the mermaid Ondine emerges from the swelling, iridescent tapestry of sound, while the grotesque dwarf Scarbo wreaks havoc with intricate and thoroughly dizzying music. With his piece »Fourths, Mostly«, revolving around number games, Michael Nyman created a marvellous minimalist organ work in 2001. The imaginative moonlight music completed in 1927 by Louis Vierne is an idyllic haven of peace in midst of the action – before the concert closes with a favourite of the Romantic era: Liszt’s »Les Préludes« was originally intended as a prelude to a planned choral composition entitled »The Four Elements« in 1848, its sounds telling of great joys but also of sufferings – of struggles and storms, of the happiness of love and pain, and of consolation and the enjoyment of nature.

Tickets from 25.08.2025 10 a.m.