Music of Eastern Europe and the Americas
Fantasie g-moll by Johann Gottfried Müthel (1728-1788)
Vivace from "Trzy szkice" by Weronika Ratusińska (b. 1977)
(Three sketches) 2010
from "Karpacki freski" by Lesia Vasylivna Dychko (b. 1939)
(Carpathian frescoes) 1985
Lento espressivo
Scherzo
Finale
Chorale Prelude "Nun komm, by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
der Heiden Heiland" BWV 659
Toccata in d BWV 538
Aria from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)
Toccatina by Ramon Noble (1920-1999)
Kosmogonik (2012) by Jacob Adler (b. 1980)
Program Notes
In her recital, Polish-American organist Ilona Kubiaczyk-Adler presents music spanning the eighteenth through the twenty-first centuries. Works from Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, Brazil, Mexico, and the US are showcased alongside pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach. Through lesser-known yet brilliant compositions, some rarely performed outside their countries of origin, the artist hopes to expand both the audience’s stylistic palette and their global perspective.
Johann Gottfried Müthel was a gifted keyboard virtuoso composing in the style known as Sturm und Drang — Storm and Stress. The style sought to express extreme emotions with freedom and intensity, which Fantasie g-moll showcases perfectly. Müthel holds a poignant place in music history as J.S. Bach's last pupil, beginning his studies just three months before Bach's death. In 1753 Müthel made his way to Riga, where he would spend the rest of his life. Situated along the ancient amber trade route and long home to a wealthy German aristocratic community, Riga was a natural destination for a musician of Müthel’s background and ambitions.
Weronika Ratusińska belongs to the Polish transition generation — those born at the tail end of communism who came of age as the borders opened. Her music has won prizes and been performed widely across Europe. The last movement, Vivace, of “Three Sketches” is driven by energetic, motoric writing, with the organ's flue sounds gradually layered through a long, carefully built crescendo.
From Poland, we move to Ukraine and Lesia Dychko, a remarkable composer who navigated making music under Soviet rule and through Ukraine's transition to independence, which we continue to hope for and support. In the 1980s, when religious texts were still forbidden, she was among the first composers to include them in her work. In 1985 she composed Carpathian Frescoes, portraying her connection to that region. You will hear the first, fourth, and seventh: Lento espressivo evokes grand, serene landscapes through a lyrical folk melody; Scherzo moves from playful energy to an intense, folk-driven climax; and Finale brings the piece to a dramatic conclusion, quoting earlier motives and alternating them with fugal sections and trumpet calls.
The following section of the program explores European influence on the music of the Americas. Johann Sebastian Bach’s chorale prelude adorns an ancient Advent melody with rich chromaticism over a walking bass, closing with a quiet homage to Buxtehude. The "Dorian" Toccata follows — driven by a single half-measure motive and shaped by the Italian influence of Vivaldi, with constant exchange between manuals. Watch how the opening motif, launched by the hands, is eventually taken over by the feet — a reminder that the organist is a particular kind of athlete.
Heitor Villa-Lobos brought these Baroque contrapuntal forms into dialogue with the lush melodic tradition of Brazil. Ramón Noble, one of Mexico's most prolific organ composers, weaves Mexican folk themes and rhythms with inherited European forms — unmistakably indebted to Bach, yet entirely his own voice.
Kosmogonik is an arrangement of Unrequited by Grammy-winning jazz pianist Brad Mehldau, partly written out by Jacob Adler, partly improvised by the organist, and woven through with references to Chopin, Alain, Messiaen, Reger, Liszt, Glass, and Ligeti. The title comes from Stanisław Lem's science fiction novel. Kosmogonik was a powerful robot who lit stars to dispel the darkness. It is also the middle name of our firstborn son. The piece bridges the American and European musical traditions in a way that feels genuinely alive — and as we look back at the journey we've taken this morning, from Müthel’s Latvia to Villa-Lobos's Brazil, that is exactly what music does: it crosses borders, carries cultures, and connects us across centuries.
Biography of IIona Kubiaczyk-Adler
Ilona Kubiaczyk-Adler is a concert organist, pianist, conductor, artistic director, and educator dedicated to bringing professional music-making into the 21st century. She specializes in music from Eastern Europe and the Americas, exploring connections between early and contemporary music, and championing underrepresented composers.
Her performances have taken her to prestigious venues and events including the Oude Kerk, Orgelpark, and Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Eccles Organ Festival in Salt Lake City, the Göteborg International Organ Academy in Sweden, the Westfield Conference at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, the Annual Organ Conference at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the Musforum Conference in Phoenix, Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey, Luther College in Iowa, and University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
Her 2015 solo album Antique Sound Palette, recorded on the recently restored 1719 Hildebrandt organ in Pasłęk, Poland, along with recordings made on the Richards & Fowkes organ at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church, have been featured on American Public Radio.
Ilona holds degrees from three conservatories: Doctor of Musical Arts from Arizona State University, Master of Music from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and Master of Arts from the Academy of Music in Łódź, Poland, where she also served as Assistant Professor of Organ.
Currently based in Phoenix, she serves as Director of Ministries in Music and Arts & Organist at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale, AZ, where she directs a robust music program and performs on the Richards, Fowkes op. 14 organ. As Artistic Director of the Pinnacle Concert Series, she presents over 20 events per season. She serves on the American Guild of Organists National New Music Committee and is a published reviewer for The American Organist magazine.
More information at www.ilonakadler.com.