NOSPR / Esa-Pekka Salonen / Iveta Apkalna / Inauguration of the organ at the NOSPR by Salonen, Lutosławski, Bartók, De (2023/2023), Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, NOSPR, Katowice, Polonia

A day we had been waiting for even before the first of a million parts of the organ was crafted by Anton Škrabl’s hand. A day of immense joy and pride, but also one of embracing the unknown. Not one of us can tell what the sound of the monumental instrument will be with the auditorium filled with listeners. Not one of us knows the part the organ will be given in the piece commissioned with the outstanding Finnish composer, Esa-Pekka Salonen, solely for this occasion. The powerful machinery of the organ will be set in motion by Iveta Apkalna – a charismatic organist of global renown and a permanent collaborator of the Hamburg-based Elbphilharmonie. In addition to his own work, Esa-Pekka Salonen will lead the orchestra in two pieces representing European modernism: Béla Bartók’s pantomime ballet The Miraculous Mandarin and Witold Lutosławski’s 4th Symphony. The last piece will provide a counterpoint for the premiere of the Finnish composer’s work, as it is Salonen himself who conducted it numerous times during celebrations for Lutosławski’s 100th birthday and who remains an admirer and propagator of the Polish composer’s work.