Poulenc - Jongen NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, Karol Mossakowski, Giancarlo Guerrero

• Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963): Francis Poulenc - Concerto in G minor for organ, strings and timpani, FP 93:
• 1 Poulenc: Francis Poulenc - Concerto in G minor for organ, strings and timpani, FP 93: I. Andante 03:20
• 2 Poulenc: Francis Poulenc - Concerto in G minor for organ, strings and timpani, FP 93: II. Allegro giocoso 02:04
• 3 Poulenc: Francis Poulenc - Concerto in G minor for organ, strings and timpani, FP 93: III. Andante moderato 07:34
• 4 Poulenc: Francis Poulenc - Concerto in G minor for organ, strings and timpani, FP 93: IV. Tempo allegro, molto agitato 02:37
• 5 Poulenc: Francis Poulenc - Concerto in G minor for organ, strings and timpani, FP 93: V. Très calme. Lent 02:45
• 6 Poulenc: Francis Poulenc - Concerto in G minor for organ, strings and timpani, FP 93: VI. Tempo de l’allegro initial 01:50
• 7 Poulenc: Francis Poulenc - Concerto in G minor for organ, strings and timpani, FP 93: VII. Tempo d’introduction. Largo 02:55
• Joseph Jongen (1873 - 1953): Joseph Jongen - Symphonie concertante op. 81 for gand organ and orchestra:
• 8 Jongen: Joseph Jongen - Symphonie concertante op. 81 for gand organ and orchestra: I. Allegro, molto moderato 08:55
• 9 Jongen: Joseph Jongen - Symphonie concertante op. 81 for gand organ and orchestra: II. Divertimento: Molto vivo 09:08
• 10 Jongen: Joseph Jongen - Symphonie concertante op. 81 for gand organ and orchestra: III. Molto lento: Lento misterioso 12:35
• 11 Jongen: Joseph Jongen - Symphonie concertante op. 81 for gand organ and orchestra: IV. Toccata (moto perpetuo): Allegro moderato 05:40
• Total Runtime 59:23

Info for Poulenc - Jongen

Karol Mossakowski – an acclaimed organist of the young generation – will perform with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic. He will play a work by Joseph Jongen, one of the most important composers of Belgian origin. The evening will end with Symphony No. 8 in G major op. 88 by Antonín Dvořák.

Joseph Jongen is appreciated in particular for his works for organ. Jongen was not only a composer, but also an excellent organist, whose playing enriched, among others religious ceremonies in the church of St James in Liège, his hometown. The Belgian composer’s oeuvre includes the Symphonie concertante op. 81. Created in the 1920s, it was intended for organ and orchestra. The artist began working on the score for this monumental work in 1926, but its premiere took place nearly a decade later at New York’s Carnegie Hall. The symphony, consisting of four elaborate movements and crowned with an impressive toccata, delights with the full sound palette of the organ and equally elaborated orchestra parts. The piece is considered to be one of the greatest works for organ of the 20th century.

Poulenc’s Concerto is primarily for strings (timpani are used sparingly throughout). It was commissioned by Princess Edmond de Polignac for her small private instrument and dedicated to her ‘with the highest regard’. (...) In her letter to Poulenc, Boulanger urged the musician to familiarise himself with the ‘resources [and] limitations’ of the Princess’s instrument. This means that this Concerto – written with difficulty over a period of some four years (1934–1938) – was initially conceived as an intimate, Neo-Baroque work (its opening is a strong allusion to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Fantasy BWV 542, also in G minor), with a succession of fast and slow sections of contrasting timbres, in the manner of German Baroque toccatas in the Italian style, such as Bach’s keyboard toccatas BWV 913–916. The form, however, is fairly well defined, with a symmetrical structure around the central ‘Tempo allegro’. (...) Joseph Jongen’s Symphonie concertante Op. 81, has become the virtuoso concerto for organists, especially in the United States. (...) The day after the performance, Eugène Ysaÿe wrote to his composer friend: “I want to tell you how much my old musician and Walloon heart was delighted, moved, conquered by your new symphony . . . a masterpiece, a monument that does honour to the whole country and to Wallonia in particular . . . It is appealing, varied, very personal, rich in colours, full of unusual harmonies . . . It is new and yet distinguished, without violent clashes (I noticed a bit of bitonality that entertained me a lot). The form is clear, the plan well drawn and it is always good and healthy music that speaks, expresses, sings, constantly interests, arouses enthusiasm . . . I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the strong emotions I have experienced.” Renaud Machart, Translated by Krzysztof Komarnicki

Karol Mossakowski, organ
NFM Wrocław Philharmonic
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor

Karol Mossakowski
is renowned for both his interpretation and improvisation skills. He was awarded First Prize of the International Prague Spring Competition and the Grand Prix de Chartres, and leads an international career in both areas of practice as they mutually enrich one another. He is Artist in Residence at NOSPR Katowice, and held the same position at Radio France from 2019 to 2022.

In February 2023 he was appointed titular organist at Saint-Sulpice in Paris.

Recent and upcoming highlights include concerts in venues such as Radio France, Philharmonie de Paris, MÜPA Budapest, Wroclaw’s National Forum of Music, Lyon’s Auditorium, Warsaw Philharmonie, Moscow Philharmonie, Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Madrid’s National Music Auditorium, BOZAR Brussels, Palais Montcalm in Quebec, Bamberg’s Konzerthalle, Dresden Philharmonie, Berlin, Cologne, Vienna, Milan cathedrals , as well as with orchestras as the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de France, NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, or the Odense Symphony Orchestra, under conductors like Myung-Whun Chung, Kent Nagano, Mikko Franck, Fabien Gabel, Giancarlo Guerrero, Cristian Măcelaru and Lawrence Foster.

Karol Mossakowski seeks to keep music alive thanks to improvisation, to which he gives an important role in his recitals and develops in silent film accompaniment. In 2017, his accompaniment of Dreyer’s Jeanne d’Arc for Lyon’s Festival Lumière was released in DVD on Gaumont. In 2021 he releases his first solo album Rivages featuring works from Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Liszt connected by improvisations, on Tempéraments, Radio France’s label.

As a composer, he is in residence at the Festival de musique sacrée de Saint-Malo, for which he composed “Les Voiles de la Lumière” oratorio for three organs and mixed choir premiered in 2021, as well as “Trois Versets” for three organs, premiered in 2022.

In 2014/15 Karol was appointed Young Artist in Residence at Cathedral of St. Louis King of France in New Orleans (USA). In 2017-2023 he was titular organist of Lille’s Cathedral.

Karol Mossakowski started the piano and the organ at three years old with his father. After musical studies in Poland with Elżbieta Karolak and Jarosław Tarnawski, he entered the organ, improvisation, and composition classes at the Paris Conservatory as a student of Olivier Latry, Michel Bouvard, Thierry Escaich, Philippe Lefebvre.

He is professor of improvisation at the Higher School of Music in San Sebastián (Musikene).

Booklet for Poulenc - Jongen