Tina Christiansen

Danish virtuoso Tina Christiansen brings the grandeur of the great cathedrals to St James’

Experience the power, colour and virtuosity of the organ in a programme ranging from Bach, Franck, Howells and Vierne to distinctive contemporary music from Denmark and Britain.

Tina Christiansen has performed at some of the world’s most distinguished organs, including St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in London, Riga Dom in Latvia, Kaliningrad Cathedral in Russia, and St Florian Stiftsbasilika in Austria. Her international career has taken her throughout Scandinavia, continental Europe, Russia and the United Kingdom.

For her Vancouver recital, Tina brings together some of the great masterpieces of the organ repertoire with music that explores the instrument in fresh and unexpected ways.

The programme opens with JS Bach’s dazzling Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, one of the great works of the organ repertoire. César Franck’s Deuxième Choral en si mineur and Herbert Howells’ evocative Rhapsody No 1 in D-flat major follow, building towards the evening’s dramatic climax : the exhilarating Final from Charles-Marie Widor’s Symphony No 7 in A minor, Op 42 No 3.

Alongside these celebrated works, Tina performs three contemporary pieces by Danish composers Anthony Lledo, Peter Due and Rasmus Zwicki, who collaborated on the soundtrack for the television nature series Wild and Wonderful Denmark. The programme also features David Loxley-Blount’s Eventide Étude, dedicated to Tina and premiered by her at Westminster Abbey in London in 2023.

From the brilliance of Bach and the lyricism of Franck to Howells’ atmosphere, Widor’s grandeur and the distinctive colours of contemporary Danish music, this recital offers a compelling exploration of the extraordinary expressive range of the organ.

JS Bach
Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV 564

César Franck
Deuxième Choral en si mineur (Choral No. 2 in B minor)

Bedřich Janáček
Toccata (2002)

Herbert Howells
Rhapsody No. 1 in D-flat major, Op. 17, No. 1

Anthony Lledo
Out in the Countryside (2020)
From the television series Wild and Wonderful Denmark

Peter Due
The Flight of the Golden Eagle (2020)
From the television series Wild and Wonderful Denmark

Rasmus Zwicki
Main Theme (2020)
From the television series Wild and Wonderful Denmark

David Loxley-Blount
Eventide Étude (2023)
Dedicated to Tina Christiansen

Charles-Marie Widor
Symphony No 7 in A minor, Op 47, No 3
VI. Final