The outstanding organ talent Laurens de Man highlights a relatively little-known side of Arvo Pärt in this concert. In Pärt’s oeuvre, the organ primarily serves as an accompanying instrument for vocal music, but in the 1980s he also composed a series of solo organ works. Laurens de Man (1993), who has been the principal organist of the Janskerk in Utrecht since 2012, excels in works such as Trivium and Annum per annum.
For this concert, De Man is joined by two remarkable guests. Countertenor Maarten Engeltjes, this season a “Soulmate” of the Muziekgebouw, will perform the stunning song My Heart’s in the Highlands. Pärt adapted the original poem by the Scottish poet Robert Burns from 1789 into an inspired piece for countertenor and organ. The intoxicatingly beautiful Spiegel im Spiegel is presented in an arrangement for violin and organ, with De Man performing alongside violinist Tai Murray, who also performs the original version with Ralph van Raat the evening before. De Man will play the extraordinary Fokker organ in the Kleine Zaal, which features a 31-tone tuning that makes it possible to perform in meantone tuning.