Night of the Organ

Samy Moussa: A Globe Itself Infolding

Samy Moussa (b. 1984) is this season’s HPO composer-in-residence. A Canadian now living in Berlin, he writes tonal, at times almost neo-romantic and minimalist music, shuns the post-modernist devices of the late 20th century and is one of the most widely-heard composers of the younger generation. His works sometimes have a narrative aspect, as in the violin concerto Adrano performed by the HPO on March 6, and tonight’s A Globe Itself Infolding of 2014. The title of this ten-minute piece for organ and orchestra is a reference to The Nature of Infinity by the English poet William Blake (1757–1827). “The nature of infinity is this: that everything has its own vortex, and when once a traveller thro’ eternity has passed that vortex, he perceives it roll back behind his path, into a globe itself infolding like a sun.”

Dmitri Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat, Op. 107

Two things prompted Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) to write his first Cello Concerto. One was the great cellist Rostropovich, who in the 1940s amazed Moscow with his performance of a concerto by Prokofiev deemed impossible to play, and the other was the death of Stalin in 1953. For the first time in nearly 30 years, Shostakovich felt free to compose as he wished. Now, at last, he could forget the political ideology and any technical and emotional constraints, because Rostropovich had none. This Shostakovich concerto is one of the greatest tests for the cellist. The scoring is nevertheless light and brass instruments are conspicuous by their absence, apart from the French horn that tailgates the soloist like a shadow just out of sight.

The concerto is divided into two large sections: an opening one and three more, all performed without a break. The third movement consists entirely of a solo cadenza lasting nearly six minutes. Right at the beginning, the cello announces (twice) the four-note motto that will later transform into D-S-C-H. Shostakovich’s musical signature, derived from his name, occurs frequently in his works.

Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 “Organ”

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) was a veritable Wunderkind; he could play all the Beethoven piano sonatas from memory at the age of 10. Yet on entering the Paris Conservatoire at 13, he chose the organ in the belief that he was more likely to get work as an organist than as a pianist. Indeed, he would spend over 20 years as organist of one of the leading Paris churches, La Madeleine. By the time he wrote his Symphony No. 3 avec orgue in 1886, the genre was virtually dead in France, being branded as German and too given to sentimentality. Claude Debussy said, “I have a horror of sentimentality and cannot forget that its name is Saint-Saëns”. Camille had avoided it for nearly 30 years, but maybe he now wanted to look backwards. Indeed, he had a considerable musical past, for he could well have heard the premieres of works by both Chopin and Stravinsky. The symphony was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society and Saint-Saëns conducted the premiere in London. Six months later it was heard in Paris in memory of Liszt. “I gave it everything I was able to give. What I have accomplished here, I will never achieve again,” he said, and he was right.

Daniel Müller-Schott 

Daniel Müller-Schott (born 1976) is a German cellist, Co-Artistic Director of the Vevey Spring Classic Festival, and Artist in Residence at the Zurich Chamber Orchestra Festival 2025 in Switzerland.

In the 2024–2025 season, Müller-Schott performs Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Helsinki Philharmonic and Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. His other engagements include concerts with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the Orchestra Sinfonica Di Milano, and the Spanish Radio Television (RTVE) Symphony Orchestra. Müller-Schott also appears with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall in New York. He tours with the Euskadi Orkestra – the Basque National Orchestra – and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. A chamber music highlight of the season is his collaboration with French pianist David Fray.

Daniel Müller-Schott studied under Steven Isserlis, Walter Nothas, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Heinrich Schiff, and was mentored by Anne-Sophie Mutter.

Pétur Sakari

Pétur Sakari (b.1992), a prominent Finnish concert organist in his generation, was introduced to the instrument at the age of three, and from an early age, his talent was recognised. Sakari gave his debut concert at the age of 13. Endorsed by organ virtuoso Olivier Latry, he played his solo debut recital at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 2017. Since then Sakari has performed his wide-ranging repertoire actively at international venues and festivals and as a soloist with renowned orchestras. Sakari’s recent collaborations include the Grammy-nominated, globally touring British vocal ensemble VOCES8.

Pétur Sakari studied at the Helsinki Conservatory, Sibelius Academy, and École Normale de Musique de Paris. His teachers include Thierry Escaich, Vincent Warnier, Kalevi Kiviniemi, and Daniel Roth. At master classes, he has been mentored by Wolfgang Rübsam, Pierre Pincemaille, Ton Koopman, Gunnar Idenstam, and Frédéric Blanc. Sakari has received multiple Young Artist of the Year honours at international organ festivals in Finland.

Miguel Harth-Bedoya

Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Emmy Award-winning and Grammy-nominated conductor, works extensively with leading orchestras worldwide. Celebrating 35 years of professional conducting, he has been appointed Professor of Conducting at Rice University. In the USA, Harth-Bedoya also serves as Director of Orchestral Studies and Music Director of the Baylor Symphony Orchestra at Baylor University.

Harth-Bedoya’s considerable experience at the helm of orchestras includes tenures as Chief Conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and as Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Harth-Bedoya regularly guest conducts around the world, and equally adept in opera, he has conducted both traditional and premiere productions internationally. 

Born and raised in Peru, Miguel Harth-Bedoya (b. 1968) studied for a Bachelor of Music at the Curtis Institute of Music and a Master of Music at The Juilliard School, both under the guidance of Otto-Werner Mueller. He also studied with Seiji Ozawa and Gustav Meier at Tanglewood.