Malta International Organ Festival 26

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Duo Faggioni in Concert | Organ & Saxophone

19^th November 2026 at 7.30pm

St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral

Hear the saxophone sing against the rich sound of the cathedral organ as Italy’s Duo Faggioni opens the 2026 Malta International Organ Festival. At St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral in Valletta, organist Stefano Faggioni and saxophonist Fabio Faggioni bring an unexpected palette of colours to Gregorian melodies, medieval Armenian chants and Stefano’s own arrangement of the Renaissance chanson Susanne un jour.

Bach’s chorale prelude offers a moment of stillness before the organ takes on the splendour of Couperin’s Offertoire sur les grands jeux. Denis Bédard’s Sonata brings out another side of the duo, with the gentle sway of its Barcarolle and the playful exchanges of its Humoresque.

Duo Faggioni – Stefano & Fabio Faggioni

French Impressions – Organ Solo

26^th November 2026 at 8pm

St Augustine’s Parish Church, Valletta

Svetlana Berezhnaya explores the colours and elegance of French music in an organ recital at St Augustine’s Parish Church, Valletta. Rameau’s lively character pieces and Lefébure-Wély’s pastoral scene lead to Improvisations on Poulenc’s themes, music by Pierné, Fauré’s Pavane and two favourites from Saint-Saëns’s The Carnival of the Animals. Franck’s Prélude, fugue et variation offers a lyrical contrast before Boëllmann’s Suite gothique brings the evening to a stirring close.

Svetlana Berezhnaya (Russia) – Organ

Jean-Philippe Rameau – Six pieces: Allemande; Menuet I; Menuet II; Les Sauvages; L’Égyptienne; La Poule

Louis-James-Alfred Lefébure-Wély – Scène pastorale

Berezhnaya – Improvisations on Poulenc

Gabriel Pierné – Prélude; Scherzando

Gabriel Fauré – Pavane

Camille Saint-Saëns – L’Éléphant and Le Cygne, from Le Carnaval des animaux

César Franck – Prélude, fugue et variation in B minor

Léon Boëllmann – Suite gothique: Introduction-Choral; Menuet gothique; Prière à Notre-Dame; Toccata

The Trumpet Shall Sound – Organ & Trumpet Concert

27^th November 2026 at 7.30pm

Oratory of the Onorati, Jesuits’ Church, Valletta

The brilliant sound of the trumpet meets the rich colours of the organ in the intimate setting of the Onorati Oratory in Valletta. Maltese musicians Franco Cefai and Jason Camilleri present a programme featuring Clarke, Handel, Vivaldi, Bach and Charpentier, alongside the hymn tradition associated with Isaac Watts. Festive fanfares and expressive melodies celebrate the character of this instrumental partnership.

Franco Cefai (Malta) – Organ

Jason Camilleri (Malta) – Trumpet

Programme featuring works by Jeremiah Clarke, George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach and Marc-Antoine Charpentier, together with hymn repertoire associated with Isaac Watts.

Sacred Echoes, Romantic Visions – Organ Solo

28^th November 2026 at 8.15pm

St Augustine’s Parish Church, Valletta

Polish organist Roman Perucki brings the organ’s power and poetry to life at St Augustine’s Parish Church, Valletta. Bach’s monumental Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major and the chorale Vater unser im Himmelreich lead into Mendelssohn’s Second Organ Sonata. Vivaldi’s La Stravaganza concerto adds Italian brilliance, while Surzyński’s Sonata in D minor and Guilmant’s march on a theme by Handel reveal the grandeur of the Romantic organ.

Roman Perucki (Poland) – Organ

Johann Sebastian Bach – Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 552

Johann Sebastian Bach – Vater unser im Himmelreich, BWV 682

Felix Mendelssohn – Organ Sonata No. 2 in C minor, Op. 65 No. 2: Grave; Adagio; Allegro maestoso e vivace; Allegro moderato

Antonio Vivaldi – Concerto in B-flat major, Op. 4 No. 1, from La Stravaganza: Allegro; Largo e cantabile; Allegro

Mieczysław Surzyński – Sonata in D minor, Op. 34: Allegro; Andante religioso; Fuga (Allegro)

Alexandre Guilmant – March on a Theme by Handel

Grand Finale – Organ & Orchestra

07^th December 2026 at 7.30pm

Basilica of St Dominic and Our Lady of Porto Salvo, Valletta

The Malta International Organ Festival closes with an evening of organ and orchestral splendour. Organist Winfried Lichtscheidel opens with the first and second movements and the Finale of Widor’s Sixth Organ Symphony, followed by an organ transcription of Bach’s Third Brandenburg Concerto and the chorale prelude Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland. Johannes Skudlik then conducts the MIOF Orchestra in Widor’s Sinfonia Sacra for organ and orchestra, bringing the festival to a majestic conclusion.

Winfried Lichtscheidel (Germany) – Organ

Johannes Skudlik (Germany) – Conductor

MIOF Orchestra

Charles-Marie Widor – Organ Symphony No. 6: Allegro, Adagio, Finale

Johann Sebastian Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048 (organ transcription)

Johann Sebastian Bach – Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659, from the Leipzig Chorales

Charles-Marie Widor – Sinfonia Sacra for organ and orchestra Op.81