225 W 99th St, New York, NY 10025
Organized by the Liszt Institute New York together with the Filharmonia Hungary a unique concert titled „The Night of the Organs” will take place on May 18, 2024 from 8PM at the Saint Michael's Episcopal Church in New York.
The event is part of a worldwide concert series featuring the „Queen of all instruments”, the organ. No other instrument is so one-of-akind and unique in size, shape and possibilities than the organ. It can do everything from sounding more intimate to filling in for an orchestra. Its intricacy, the complexity of playing with the hands and feet required of an organist, impresses many. It is no coincidence that in churches it has been used to proclaim the glory of God at liturgies, but no concert hall worth its salt can do without the instrument. Every year since 2019, organ music can be heard not only in the usual venues, but also in public squares, markets, spas, playgrounds, charity homes, in the middle of Lake Balaton, in the subway underpass, and even in the fountains that make music on this special day.
The event’s featured artist will be Hungarian organist extraordinaire, Bálint Karosi showcasing some of the most virtuosic, captivating works written for the organ as well as his own composition together with Hungarian clarinetist Noémi Sallai.
The event is free of charge.
PROGRAM
Bálint Karosi, Organ
Noémi Sallai, Clarinet
- Frigyes Hidas: Sonata for Organ (1966)
I.Moderato
II.Andante
III.Toccata
- Bálint Karosi: Cantilena (2005) (clarinet and organ)
Kodály Triptych (2022, 1st prize winner of the 2022 Composition Competition by the Hungarian Philharmonia)
III. Canonic Fanfare on Fölszállott a Páva
- Leó Weiner: Ballade Op. 8 (arranged for clarinet and organ by Bálint Karosi)
- Dezső Antalffy-Zsiross: Sportive Fauns, Toccata for organ
- Zoltán Kodály: Esti Dal - Evening Song (clarinet and organ)
- Franz Liszt: Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H
About the artists
Bálint Karosi - organ
Bálint Karosi has been Cantor and Director of Music, Classical, at Saint Peter’s Church in Midtown Manhattan since 2015. After winning the 2008 Bach Prize in Leipzig, Balint has been in demand as a recitalist and clinician worldwide, known for the interpretation of Bach’s music and his Baroque-style improvisations. His recording portfolio includes three albums by Hungaroton, including his original orchestral works, and thirteen albums of the complete works for organ by J. S. Bach. Balint has recently joined the faculty of the Organ Department at the University of Michigan, where he will be teaching organ literature, church music and improvisation, starting August 2023.
Dr. Karosi’s compositions include the reconstruction of Bach’s lost St Mark’s Passion for Saint Peters, four organ concerti, two operas, cantatas, choral, orchestral, and instrumental works. His eight volumes of organ works are published by the Leupold Foundation. His Toccata in Memory of Bartók was the compulsory work for the 2022 NYACOP competition, his Kodály Triptych won the first prize of the Hungarian Philharmonia’s 2022 composition competition, and, in 2023, his organ concerto Syöjätär has been awarded the Kaija Saarijaho prize and the prize of the Finnish National Composer Award in Helsinki, Finland.
Bálint has studied at the Liszt Academy in his native Budapest, Hungary, the Conservatoire Superieure in Geneva, Switzerland, and at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. He earned his DMA in composition at the Yale School of Music in 2017.
Noémi Sallai - clarinet
Aspiring Hungarian clarinetist Noémi Sallai has been selected as the sole clarinet fellow in Carnegie Hall's prestigious music program, Ensemble Connect for the 2018-2020 season. A devoted chamber musician, Ms. Sallai has spent her summers at the Crescendo Summer Institute in Hungary, the Sarasota Music Festival in Florida and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, where she collaborated with such renowed artists as Charles Neidich, Frank Morelli and Peter Frankl. As a passionate interpreter of solo repertoire written for the clarinet, Ms. Sallai premiered works for her instrument in the United States through The Juilliard School's Focus! Festival and has received first prize at several national and international clarinet competitions. As the winner of the 2018 PRISMA Concerto Competition in Canada, Ms. Sallai had the opportunity to play in the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, in Russia. She was featured as soloist at the Charlotte White's Salon de Virtuosi concert series and received first prize at the 2018 International Internet Music Competition. An enthusiast of orchestral music, she went on tour with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, conductred by Iván Fischer, to Edinburgh, Budapest and New York participating in their production of Mozart's Don Giovanni.
Ms. Sallai holds a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School of Music, where she was a recepeint of the Irene Diamond and R. & H. Gold Woodwind Award. She completed her Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Arts degrees at Bard College, receiving the László Z. Bitó Scholarship. Her principal teachers include Jon Manasse, David Krakauer, Anthony McGill and Laura Flax.