PAOLO ORENI – SOLO ORGAN RECITAL IN THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. ANASTASIA, 12 SEPTEMBER 2026
12.09.2026
“A true miracle of technique with a precision never before achieved. Great expectations are clearly placed in him.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
The thenth concert of the Third International Festival “Organs of St. Anastasia” brings us an exceptional musical event. In the Cathedral of St. Anastasia, on the Eisenbarth organ, on 12 September 2026 at 8 PM, Paolo Oreni will give a solo organ recital. This will be an extraordinary opportunity to hear, for the very first time in Zadar, this outstanding Italian artist with an impressive international career.
Since 2006, Paolo Oreni has been a regular guest lecturer at masterclasses in improvisation and repertoire interpretation — from Bach to contemporary music — in the Archdiocese of Munich, at the prestigious International Academy of Altenberg Cathedral, and in many German cities. He is also frequently invited to serve as a jury member at national and international organ competitions. As a recognized organ expert, he collaborates with European organ builders in the design of modern pipe organs, resulting in numerous notable instruments. Paolo Oreni has also designed his own concert organ, called Wanderer, which is currently the largest existing transportable organ.
In the magnificent setting of the Cathedral of St. Anastasia, as part of the Third International Festival “Organs of St. Anastasia”, the internationally acclaimed organist Paolo Oreni will present the following programme:
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
Sinfonia from Cantata BWV 29 (transcription: Marcel Dupré)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)
Adagio and Fugue KV 546 (transcription: Jean Guillou)
Franz Liszt (1811–1886)
Prometheus (transcription: Jean Guillou)
Charles-Marie Widor (1844 – 1937)
Allegro from Symphony No. 6, Op. 42 No. 2 (cadenza: Jean Guillou)
The Süddeutsche Zeitung describes him as a “young promising talented Italian artist, a miracle of skill with phenomenal precision that is still unreached”. Paolo Oreni was born in Treviglio in 1979. At the age of 11 he begins to study organ and organ composition with master Giovanni Walter Zaramella at the music institute “Gaetano Donizetti” in Bergamo. With the help of scholarships from the Ministry of Culture of Luxembourg, the Municipality and the Cooperative Bank of Treviglio, he continues his musical studies at the National Conservatory of Luxembourg from 2000 onwards. There he wins his first prize in 2002 in the international competition “Prix Interregional-Diplòme de Concert”, a prestigious Central European Diploma. He collects valuable influences of different masters of international level, in particular from Jean-Paul Imbert and Lydia Baldecchi Arcuri, with whom he deepens and expands his organ and piano repertoire. Crucial to his training is the encounter with master Jean Guillou, at who’s several masterclasses he participates. By this masterclasses he played the big organs of the Tonhalle Zurich and the Church of St. Eustache in Paris (Stiftung für internationale Meisterkurse für Musik).
Awards and Performances
He wins various international competitions. In June 2004 he receives a “mention d’honneur” at the international competition “Ville de Paris”, where 60 organists from all over the world took part. He played as a duo with musicians of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Scala Theater in Milan, in chamber music ensembles and symphonic orchestras (Gaetano Donizetti Orchestra of Bergamo, Symphonic Orchestra “laVerdi” Milan, Jeune Orchestre of Paris, Orchestra Haydn Bolzano, Symphonic Orchestra Zurich, Bochum Symphony Orchestra , Wiesbaden Symphony Orchestra, …) and continues his intensive activity as a concert organist, during which he regularly performs at the most prestigious international music festivals in Italy, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Spain , Portugal, Finland, Norway, Albania, Israel, Poland, Romania, Malta, the Czech Republic and the Canary Islands.
Discography
He registered a CD for the french record company Fugatto on the Bossi Organo of Cremolino, for ORGANpromotion at the Rieger Organ of Reutlingen and for the municipality of Salorno in South Tyrol at the Pirchner Organ. Various concerts have been registered and transmitted by european radio broadcasters, including the famous Bayrischer Rundfunk at Munich.
Current Activites
Since 2006, he has regularly been invited to hold masterclasses on improvisation and repertory playing (from Bach to contemporary music) in the Archdiocese of Munich, at the renowned international Akkademie des Domes of Altenberg and in various German cities. In addition, he is often called as a jury member at national and international competitions. As an organ expert, he works in collaboration with various European organ builders to plan modern pipe organs. These collaborations result in various instruments, e.g. Santa Anastasia Church in Villasanta (Monza), Santa Maria delle Grazie al Naviglio (Milan) and the Church of the Brotherhood of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria in Paternò (Sicily). He has also designed his personal concert organ, called Wanderer, which is currently the largest existing transportable organ.
