The second round of the Dublin International Organ and Choral Festival's organ competition, last Wednesday and Thursday, featured 16 players from 12 countries. They had been selected from the 30 or so who submitted taped performances for the first round and included two Irish musicians, Antoinette Baker and Michael Quinn. The final was held on Saturday night and, like the second round, was in Christ Church Cathedral.
One unusual aspect of this competition was the exclusion from the final of that standard yardstick of organ playing, Baroque music. Rounds one and two specified pieces from the Baroque and Romantic periods. The final required "a balance of 19th-century and/or 20th-century music not exceeding 30 minutes' duration", including "Offrande et Alleluia Final" from Messiaen's Livre du Saint Sacrement. It was therefore a test of programming as well as of playing.
Given the five finalists' freedom to choose, it was inevitable that anticipating the jury's decisions would be a bit of a lottery. (Throughout the competition, the players' identities were not disclosed to the jury).
Jonathan Oldengarm (Canada) stood out for unalloyed musicality and stylish imagination in music by Karg-Elert and Dupre. I would have placed him first, though only just, and was a little surprised that he came third. First place went to Shane Douglas O'Neill, an American. With superlative management of the organ, the best Messiaen and bold all-French programming, he was a worthy winner. Neither of the European finalists, Burkhard Just and Michael Utz (Germany), were placed, and the second prize went to the youngest finalist, 20-year-old Jeremy Joseph, from South Africa. His arresting account of Dupre's Prelude and Fugue in B was a highlight of the competition. He could be a player to watch.