Organ Matinée with Crescenzo Grifone

Through Konserthuset’s popular organ matinée subscription, audiences get to hear Sweden’s leading organists perform on the venue’s own organ, which with its 6,100 pipes is one of the largest in Europe. This concert will feature Italian organ music with organist Crescenzo Grifone.

Crescenzo Grifone was born in southern Italy, where his paternal grandfather played clarinet in the village band, and his father often played organ in the church. He began playing organ at the age of five, and when it was time to choose between studying engineering or music, he chose the latter.

Grifone ultimately ended up in Sweden, due in part to his organ teacher, who was an organist for the Church of Sweden in Rome. Grifone has held organist positions in Dalarna and Hudiksvall, and now works with the Vällingby congregation.

His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach, but he also gladly plays music by Enrico Bossi. At today’s concert, we will hear four pieces by Bossi, an Italian organist, composer and improviser who worked in the cathedral in Como at the end of the nineteenth century and later taught in Bologna, Venice and Rome. He toured often throughout his career and became acquainted with César Franck, Marcel Dupré and Camille Saint-Saëns. Bossi left behind over 150 pieces, including works for orchestra, piano and organ, operas, oratorios and chamber music.