Debrecen4U May 29, 2025

Night of the Organs in Debrecen

With nearly 200 events on 6 continents, in 30 countries and 37 venues abroad, this year’s Night of the Organs will take place on Saturday 7 June, Pentecost. In addition to the many venues in Hungary, there will be concerts in Hungarian towns and cities beyond the borders (e.g. Révkomárom, Nagyvárad, Kolozsvár) and in several European cities, as well as in the United States, Peru, China, India, South Korea and Algeria.

The aim of the Night of Organs programme has remained unchanged since its foundation in 2019: to make this instrument, “the queen of instruments”, unique in size, shape and possibilities, known to as wide an audience as possible.

Lucke grew up in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, and studied music at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Geneva Conservatory. He obtained the highest degree in church music, the ‘A’ exam, and a diploma as organist. From 1989 to 1991 he was a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) scholarship holder. His prizes include the Austrian Ministry of Culture Prize (1991) and the Première Prix of the Geneva Conservatoire (1993). His concert tours and radio recordings have taken him to the United States, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and most countries in Europe, and many of his recordings have received awards from the music profession. In 1997 he was appointed professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz and in 2000 he was appointed professor of organ at thae Mozarteum in Salzburg. Hannfried Lucke has given master classes throughout Europe and the United States and is also a jury member for organ competitions.

In Budapest, the world-famous Argentine opera singer José Cura and the Liszt Prize-winning organist Szabolcs Szamosi will give a joint concert in the Matthias Church, and German organist Christian Schmitt and French organist Vincent Dubois will perform with Concerto Budapest at the Liszt Academy, followed by an encore concert without orchestra from 11.00 p.m.

The event will include organ music not only in the usual venues (churches and concert halls), but also in public spaces, at the Széchenyi Spa, the Budapest Zoo (Theater Wagen), on Deák Square next to the Ferris wheel (TheaterWagen), in the School for the Blind in a charity concert, in circus performances, in theatres (Kecskemét Katona József National Theatre, Uránia Film Theatre) and in front of cultural institutions (Budapest Operetta Theatre, Hungarian State Opera House, National Theatre), and will also be heard in the middle of Lake Balaton and on the Danube on board the cruise ships, and the musical theatre production “Organ Blossoming”, which was a great success at last year’s Night of Organs, will be presented in Uránia.

“Last year, the Night of the Organs became international through the cooperation of the Liszt Institutes and Hungarian embassies abroad, and this relationship will continue fruitfully this year,” Szabolcs Szamosi, Managing Director of Filharmónia Hungary said.

Rezső Ott’s Toccata Fantasia Festival, commissioned by Philharmonia Hungary, will be performed in hundreds of venues around the world.

It is still possible to join the programmes, and the Philharmonia Hungary welcomes individual initiatives from the smallest municipalities, and where there is no possibility of organising a programme but there is an organ, everyone is encouraged to register the organ in the organ register on the Philharmonia Hungary website, so that the world and organists can learn about the hidden instruments. The detailed programme can be found at www.filharmonia.hu.

Information about the concert in Debrecen can be found here.  Music fans can also follow some of the programmes online.

Source: dehir.hu |Photo credit: Pixabay