衛武營國家藝術文化中心 National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)

The third performance of the Weiwuying Organ Festival, a concert of duets, will be presented by organist Iveta APKALNA and accordionist Martynas LEVICKIS. It's said that the organ is the oldest instrument, while the accordion was the result of an improved version of sheng from China by the Europeans during the late 18th century. However, the two have many similarities – they both make sounds through blowing wind into the instrument, and they thus have similar tones. The organ gives a solemn and grand impression, while the accordion feels more agile and emotional. The first half of the program includes solo works of J. S. BACH and D. SCARLATTI, both of whom were born in 1685. The works contrast with each other, and with organist and accordionist displaying their own virtuosic playing, the audience can clearly identify the contrasting carefulness of German music and the passion of Italian style. Duets include Summer from VIVALDI's Four Seasons, Romantic French composer BOËLLMANN's Suite Gothique, and contemporary composer KUJALA's Photon. The organ can be classical, romantic, and avant-garde. Come to Weiwuying's Concert Hall to enjoy her diverse charisma!

  Pre-talk  

2023/3/26(Sun)19:00 Concert Hall 3F

  Program  

J. S. BACH：Ricercar a 6 in c minor from the Musical Offering, BWW 1079 (Organ solo)

D. SCARLATTI：Sonata in d minor for Accordion Solo, K.1 (Arranged for Accordion Solo)

D. SCARLATTI：Sonata in d minor for Accordion Solo. K 9  (Arranged for Accordion Solo)

Léon BOËLLMANN：Suite Gothique for Organ and Accordion, Op. 25 (Arranged for Organ and Accordion)

Veli KUJALA： Photon (2015) for Organ and Accordion

Martynas LEVICKIS
Lithuanian Folk Songs, (Arranged for Accordion Solo)

I. Lieliumoj
Il. Gee up, home / Siù namo, tprù namo
Ill. A linden by the roadside bowed / Palinko liepa Salia kelio
IV. The verdant Rue / Ruta Zalioj
V. The Dawn is Breaking / Beaustanti aurele

A.L.VIVALDI: "Summer" from the Four Seasons (Arranged for Organ and Accordion)

  Creative and Production Team  

Organ｜Iveta APKALNA

Accordion｜Martynas LEVICKIS

  Artist Introduction  

Organ｜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 offered 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.

Accordion｜Martynas LEVICKIS

Martynas  LEVICKIS likes to call his instrument a 'box of magic tricks'. And it's true: when this Lithuanian musician straps on his accordion and begins to play the audience often falls silent, spellbound as if watching an amazing magic show. The soundscapes that LEVICKIS succeeds in rising from his 'box of tricks' are truly as varied as they are unexpected and masterly. LEVICKIS is a man with a single mission: to at last secure for his eternally underestimated instrument the renown that it deserves. And he could hardly be more successful. The Independent had this to say about him: "The unbelievably talented Martynas LEVICKIS, the man who is single-handedly reinventing the accordion". While Classic FM declared: "This brilliant Lithuanian accordion player has captured the attention of the world of music and has caused people to see his instrument in a new light, realising that it is capable of great emotional expression".

LEVICKIS' career began in the dense woods of Lithuania, where he was already imitating the birds and the sound of the trees with his accordion at the age of three. When he was eight he then attended the S. Sondeckis School of the Arts in his hometown of Šiauliai before later going on to study under Owen Murray at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

The steep trajectory of LEVICKIS' career as the ambassador of the accordion speeded up further when he won the casting show 'Lithuania's Got Talent' in 2010, becoming a superstar in his own country and thus finally proving that he and his instrument deserved international attention. This was followed by a debut album with Decca Classics – LEVICKIS was the first accordionist to sign with the label – and this shot immediately to number one in the British classical music charts. He also received more than 30 international awards for his work, including first place in the Coupe Mondiale World Accordion Championships.