At this year’s Night of the Organs in Székesfehérvár, we will welcome concert organist, composer, and folk musician Gunnar Idenstam, known worldwide for his virtuosic playing, stunning improvisations, and his original, innovative approach to organ music. Gunnar’s main goal is to present and popularize the organ beyond traditional genre boundaries, exploring it from various perspectives.

Although trained in classical music, he has always admired and been inspired by the popular music and symphonic rock of the 1970s. Today, he combines these diverse influences in his organ music, building bridges between 20th-century French church traditions, symphonic rock, and Swedish folk music. He has also arranged large orchestral masterpieces for organ, such as Debussy’s La Mer. As a folk musician, he uniquely adapts the characteristics of Swedish folk music for the organ.

Gunnar Idenstam developed his diverse musical style and performance foundation at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. Later, he studied French musical traditions in Paris under the legendary Marie-Claire Alain. He has received top honors in both countries. In 1984, he became the first—and to this day the only—Northern European organist to win the prestigious international improvisation competition, the Grand Prix de Chartres.

Since 1986, he has had a remarkable international career, performing at renowned venues such as Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional, the Monaco Cathedral, Paris’s St. Eustache Cathedral, Berlin Philharmonie, Ljubljana’s Ivan Cankar Concert Hall, and San Diego’s Balboa Park Organ Pavilion in the USA. He is also a regular performer at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg and the Zaryadie Concert Hall in Moscow.

Idenstam collaborates with other musicians, including the legendary ABBA member Benny Andersson, and participates in popular projects such as Bach in Swedish with violinist Lisa Rydberg and Northern Dances with Erik Rydvall on the nyckelharpa. Since May 2013, he has been a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

At this concert, you will hear Bach’s music performed by Gunnar Idenstam, get a glimpse into the world of Swedish “folk” organ playing, and listen to organ interpretations of excerpts from Orff’s Carmina Burana.