- Source: St Albans International Organ Festival
The International Organ Festival (IOF) is a biennial music festival and organ competition held in St Albans, England since 1963. Originally held annually, it was changed to every two years in 1965 due to the complexity of organising the increasingly ambitious programme. The festival is run mainly by volunteers.
Background
The festival was conceived by the organist and choirmaster of St Albans Cathedral, Peter Hurford, to celebrate the building of a new organ at the cathedral by Harrison & Harrison. The main competitions are still conducted on this instrument, its eclectic style and modern electropneumatic action now complemented by another self-contained tracker action instrument which the International Organ Festival Society, the charity which runs the Festival, has had built for its own use and sited at St Saviour's Church, St Albans. This was built by Peter Collins in the style of, and in homage to, the early 18th century German organ builder Andreas Silbermann. There is a new (2005) organ in St Peter's Church, St Albans by Mander Organs, which played a role in the festival and competitions from 2007.
Recent competitions have also visited London, with competition rounds regularly held at Christ Church Spitalfields and, in 2017, a concerto final at St John's Smith Square.
There are two main competitions, the interpretation competition and the improvisation competition (formerly known as the Tournemire Prize). Judges have included Piet Kee, Marie-Claire Alain, Anton Heiller, Ralph Downes, Harry Croft-Jackson, Thomas Trotter, Ton Koopman, Naji Hakim, Daniel Roth and David Sanger. The competition is considered prestigious, as may be judged by the list of past winners (starting with Susan Landale in 1963 and Gillian Weir in 1964), and judges have occasionally decided not to award first prize.
The Artistic Director and Executive Director since 2007 is David Titterington, professor of organ at the Royal Academy of Music.
The 2023 festival and competitions, marking the festival's 60th anniversary, took place from 3 to 15 July.
The Festival
The festival's associated concert series includes large orchestral and choral works, chamber music and solo performances, as well as evening jazz. The Three Choirs concert is an audience favourite, in which over the years the choristers of St Albans Cathedral have been joined by many of England's most celebrated cathedral choirs (for instance, in 2013 Salisbury Cathedral & York Minster, in 2015 Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and Westminster Cathedral, and in 2017 St Paul's Cathedral & Temple Church).
Many of the great orchestras (the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and others) have played in the Festival, and there have been recitals and concerts from performers such as John Williams, Sarah Walker, Musica Antiqua Köln, Evelyn Glennie, Emma Kirkby, James Bowman and Julian Perkins. Concerts have sometimes been broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Many concerts take place in the Cathedral, but the Festival takes place all over St Albans with other regular venues including St Peter's Church and St Saviour's Church.
The 2021 Festival was one of the first events to take place after Covid-19 restrictions were partially relaxed in the UK. Performers included Nicola Benedetti with Aurora Orchestra, Tenebrae, Jess Gillam, Steven Osborne and Roderick Williams.
The Fringe
The IOF Fringe presents community-focused performances in a wide range of formal and unconventional venues.
Events were mostly outdoors in historic parts of the City such as in front of the Clock Tower and in the Tudor streets of St Michael's or in the Alban Arena. Artists taking part included Seth Lakeman, The Swanvesta Social Club and Isla St Clair.
Previously, cabaret events and other entertainment had been run as part of the festival, including performances from Richard Stilgoe, Jake Thackray, Instant Sunshine and others.
Past winners
The following individuals have won prizes at the festival.
= Interpretation competition
=1963 Susan Landale, UK
1964 Gillian Weir, UK
1965 Hans Joachim Bartsch, Germany
1967 Danièle Gullo, France
1969 David Sanger, UK
1971 Larry Cortner, USA
1973 Jan Overduin, The Netherlands / Walter Glyn Jenkins, UK
1975 Lynne Davis, USA
1977 Peggy Haas, USA / Marcus Huxley, UK (joint second)
1979 Thomas Trotter, UK
1981 David Rowland, UK (second prize)
1983 Kevin Bowyer, UK
1985 Kimberly Marshall, USA
1985 Diane Meredith Belcher, USA "(second prize)"
1987 Bas de Vroome, The Netherlands (second prize)
1989 Mikael Wahlin, Sweden
1991 Joseph Adam, USA
1993 Gabriel Marghieri, France
1995 Mattias Wager, Sweden
1997 David Goode, UK (second prize)
1999 Pier-Damiano Peretti, Italy
2001 Johannes Unger, Germany
2003 Herman Jordaan, South Africa
2005 Andrew Dewar, UK
2007 Ulrich Walther, Germany
2009 Konstantin Volostnov, Russia
2011 David Baskeyfield, UK
2013 Simon Thomas Jacobs, UK
2015 Johannes Zeinler, Austria
2017 Thomas Gaynor, New Zealand
2019 Kumi Choi, South Korea
2021 Competition was held virtually due to Covid-19, with no first prize
2023 Sunkyung Noh, South Korea
= Improvisation competition
=1963 Guy Bovet, Switzerland
1964 André Isoir, France
1971 Hans Eugen Frischknecht, Switzerland
1973 Kees van Ersel, The Netherlands
1975 Nathan Ensign, USA
1977 Jos van der Kooy, The Netherlands
1979 Christoph Tietze, USA
1983 Naji Hakim, France
1985 Marie-Bernadette Dufourcet-Hakim, France
1987 David Drury, Australia
1991 Christoph Kuhlmann, Germany
1993 David Briggs, UK
1997 Martin Baker, UK
2001 Hayo Boerema, The Netherlands / Thomas Lennartz, Germany (joint second)
2003 Robert Houssart, The Netherlands
2005 Gerben Mourik, The Netherlands
2007 not awarded
2009 Jean-Baptiste Dupont, France
2011 Paul Goussot, France
2013 Martin Sturm, Germany
2015 David Cassan, France
2017 not awarded
2019 Gabriele Agrimonti, Italy
2021 No improvisation competition was held
References
External links
St Albans International Organ Festival website
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Daftar julukan kota di Amerika Serikat
- St Albans International Organ Festival
- St Albans Cathedral
- St Albans Cathedral Choir
- Peter Collins (organ builder)
- David Drury (musician)
- Alban Arena
- Thomas Trotter (musician)
- St Albans Bach Choir
- Paul Griffiths (businessman)
- Martin Baker (organist)
