Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast
Aug 24, 2026 · 24 min · 9 segments
In this episode, we dive into the fascinating topic of what makes an organ performance truly memorable. Have you ever attended a concert that was technically flawless but left you feeling cold? Or…
Ausra Motuzaite-PinkevicieneHost
Vidas PinkeviciusHostFor me, uh, for example, it's, uh, uh, this, this one of the performances of, of, uh, the late Professor Leopoldas Degris, um, where he played, uh, uh, in a, in a master class concert in, uh, Sejnai, a, a little Lithuanian town in the territory of Pol- Poland, close to the border with Lithuania.
A- and this little village has, um, a beautiful Jonas Garelavčius organ from the beginning of the 20th century.
Leopoldas Degris, uh, took two of his students, myself and, uh, my colleague, uh, uh, Živylė, to a week-long, uh, basically, uh, organ, um, seminar or, uh, o- organist camp maybe.
And I remember one of his concerts, he played a wonderful, uh, rendition of Bach's, uh, E-flat major prelude, BWV 552, on that organ.
And why it was, uh, so memorable? Because the organ has such a heavy action, uh, mechanical action organ.
And a- at that time, I, I, I had, uh, tremendous challenge playing it, uh, technically.
Uh, but, uh, my former professor, Leopoldas Degris, played this BWV 552 very memorably, and, uh, I felt moved.
So, but we are now talking if, you know, the, uh, performance with mistakes can be, you know, memorable and move us and...
So maybe you remember such a, a performance with not necessarily very perfect, perfect technically, but, but, um, still very moving artistically and pleasing.
Well, you know, well, I have heard so many performances that I could not probably, you know, the, uh, talk about one single.
But for me, obviously, it's always more, more important and more, uh, I like more when people perform alive, uh, rather than listen to the CD, which I know is edited.
And if I'm listening to the CD, I like to listen them recorded during a live performance.
Because during the live performance, there is always something, something, something more exciting about it, you know? Because sometimes you can feel the tension that organist feels, you know, and, and it makes you even more exciting.
And if, you know, something unexpected happens to the instrument or, you know, to performance, it's always really, really moving to, uh, hear how he or she deals with the situation and how, how solves the, you know, uh, problems that suddenly, suddenly, you know, uh, jumps up while, while performing alive.
It's like a little bit, uh, similar to improvisation when, when a person improvises a piece of music in front of you, and anything can happen.
For me, uh, for example, it's, uh, uh, this, this one of the performances of, of, uh, the late Professor Leopoldas Degris, um, where he played, uh, uh, in a, in a master class concert in, uh, Sejnai, a, a little Lithuanian town in the territory of Pol- Poland, close to the border with Lithuania.
A- and this little village has, um, a beautiful Jonas Garelavčius organ from the beginning of the 20th century.
Leopoldas Degris, uh, took two of his students, myself and, uh, my colleague, uh, uh, Živylė, to a week-long, uh, basically, uh, organ, um, seminar or, uh, o- organist camp maybe.
And I remember one of his concerts, he played a wonderful, uh, rendition of Bach's, uh, E-flat major prelude, BWV 552, on that organ.
And why it was, uh, so memorable? Because the organ has such a heavy action, uh, mechanical action organ.
And a- at that time, I, I, I had, uh, tremendous challenge playing it, uh, technically.
Uh, but, uh, my former professor, Leopoldas Degris, played this BWV 552 very memorably, and, uh, I felt moved.
So, but we are now talking if, you know, the, uh, performance with mistakes can be, you know, memorable and move us and...
So maybe you remember such a, a performance with not necessarily very perfect, perfect technically, but, but, um, still very moving artistically and pleasing.
Well, you know, well, I have heard so many performances that I could not probably, you know, the, uh, talk about one single.
But for me, obviously, it's always more, more important and more, uh, I like more when people perform alive, uh, rather than listen to the CD, which I know is edited.
And if I'm listening to the CD, I like to listen them recorded during a live performance.
Because during the live performance, there is always something, something, something more exciting about it, you know? Because sometimes you can feel the tension that organist feels, you know, and, and it makes you even more exciting.
And if, you know, something unexpected happens to the instrument or, you know, to performance, it's always really, really moving to, uh, hear how he or she deals with the situation and how, how solves the, you know, uh, problems that suddenly, suddenly, you know, uh, jumps up while, while performing alive.
It's like a little bit, uh, similar to improvisation when, when a person improvises a piece of music in front of you, and anything can happen.
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