On the occasion of the feast of the patron saint of Zadar and Zadar City Day, St. Chrysogonus, an organ concert by the world-renowned Croatian organist, Prof. mo. Pavao Mašić, was held in the Cathedral of St. Anastasia. This concert marked the opening of the 2nd "Organs of St. Anastasia" festival for the 2024/2025 season. For more than an hour, visitors and classical music lovers had the opportunity to enjoy his masterful performances. The delighted audience rewarded him with prolonged applause.

Pavao Mašić (Šibenik, 1980), winner of the Grand Prix Bach and the Audience Award at the Bach Organ Competition in Lausanne (2006), has developed a successful career as a concert organist and harpsichordist.

His diverse artistic interests encompass Baroque and Romantic repertoire, with a special emphasis on the works of J. S. Bach, as well as French and Croatian composers. Combined with meticulous research and a continuous pursuit of expressive interpretation, this results in striking, virtuosic, and highly esteemed performances. After completing his music studies at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, he pursued postgraduate organ studies in Lausanne with Kei Koito and harpsichord studies in Freiburg with Robert Hill. He further refined his artistry through work with distinguished musicians such as Bob van Asperen, Anđelko Klobučar, Ton Koopman, Laurence Cummings, Daniel Roth, Luigi F. Tagliavini, and Christoph Bossert.

From 2008 to 2013, he continued his studies under some of today’s most prominent harpsichordists, including Pierre Hantaї, Christophe Rousset, and Skip Sempé. In October 2013, as a French Academy fellow in Rome, he embarked on a residency dedicated to interpreting French harpsichord music at Villa Medici, where, since 1803, the most distinguished French artists—recipients of the prestigious Prix de Rome—have devoted themselves to artistic pursuits. Thanks to the Royaumont Foundation, between 2015 and 2018, he participated in workshops dedicated to D. Scarlatti, F. Couperin, C. Franck, O. Messiaen, and French organ music in the inspiring settings of Royaumont Abbey and the Royal Chapel of Versailles, working alongside esteemed artists such as Blandine Verlet, Aline Zylberajch-Gester, Pierre Hantaї, Jean-Baptiste Robin, Daniel Roth, Vincent Warnier, and Thomas Lacôte.

As one of the most distinguished Croatian musicians of his generation, Mašić has served as the principal organist of St. Mark’s Church in Zagreb’s Upper Town since 1999, continuing a rich tradition of organ playing in this historic church that dates back to 1359. In parallel, he holds the position of Associate Professor at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, where he engages in extensive pedagogical work, nurturing new generations of harpsichordists and organists.

Prof. Mašić je za posjetitelje zadarske katedrale izveo sljedeći program:

Alexandre Pierre-François Boëly (1785-1858)

Fantasy and Fugue in B-flat major, Op. 18 No. 6

Franjo Lučić (1889-1972)

Elegy in F minor

Franjo Dugan (1874-1948)

Introduction and Fugue in F minor

Blagoje Bersa (1873-1934)

Idyll (arranged for organ by Pavao Mašić)

Davorin Kempf (1947-2021)

Veni, Creator Spiritus (2020)

I. Fantasy

II. Chorale Intermezzo

III. Fugue-Fantasy

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

St. Francis of Assisi: The Sermon to the Birds, S. 175/1

Alfred Hollins (1865-1942)

Concert Overture in C minor

https://youtu.be/KsWDeQ_n3RM?si=puj1YRYZvT2s_JJp

(concert recording)