Organ evenings in Kuskovo. "Shine and Depth"

Complicated in its design, the organ invariably amazes with its almost infinite variety of possibilities, and the organist’s virtuoso playing simultaneously on several keyboards for hands and on the keyboard for legs, mastery of many timbres-registers surprise and delight listeners. But, at the same time, the organ also has the image of an instrument that carries deep religious meanings. The Brilliance and Depth program is designed to demonstrate both of these facets of the most ancient musical instrument. It will be presented on March 11 in Kuskovo by the famous organist Maria Lesovichenko.

The concert will open with a three-movement cycle of Toccata, adagio and fugue, one of the masterpieces of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).

A virtuoso Toccata with a luxurious pedal solo, a prayerful Adagio and an original Fugue require great skill from the performer.

One of the brightest works of the Baroque era, the Concerto for two solo violins by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), which was arranged for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach, brilliantly demonstrates the technical capabilities of both the organ and the performer.

The Passacaglia by the Austrian Georg Muffat (1653-1704) is one of the best examples of this genre - variations based on a continuously repeating bass-ostinato line of movement, written to be played on the harpsichord or organ and performed only by hands.

But the famous “Asturias” (from the “Spanish Suite” cycle) by Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909), originally composed for piano, arranged for organ, is a piece in which virtuoso footwork is very convincingly used as the main performance technique.

The famous work of the French composer Cesar Franck (1822-1890) "Prelude, Fugue and Variation" opens a different page in the organ repertoire - romantic, incredibly touching, but in the tradition of baroque organ music, while the toccata from the "Gothic Suite" (1895) Leon Boelman (1862-1897) is a prime example of late Romantic French organ music. Majestic cathedrals with spiers directed to the sky, decorated with stone carvings and gargoyles come to life in this music.

The concert will end with the monumental Passacaglia, filled with many symbols, by Johann Sebastian Bach - an absolute masterpiece of this genre and organ music in general.

Maria Lesovichenko is a laureate of many significant international organ competitions, such as the M. L. Tariverdiev Competition, the V. F. Odoevsky Competition, the Soli Deo Gloria Competition and others.

Constantly performs as a concert organist in Russia, as well as in Kazakhstan, Latvia, Spain, Austria, Holland.

He teaches at the F. Chopin College in Moscow, where he teaches an additional instrument class for pianists (organ).

For many years she has been performing and organizing performances by her colleagues at the Pushchino House of Scientists, where Maria’s personal instrument, the Viscount electronic organ, is installed. In August 2022, Maria initiated the Stars over the Oka organ festival in Pushchino.