ABOUT
Eerik Ohtamaa (b. 2001) is one of the most advanced young Finnish organists. He was born in Kiiminki, Oulu, and began studying piano and organ at the Oulu Conservatory. Since 2021, he has studied organ performance at the Sibelius Academy under Susanne Kujala, Ville Urponen and Markku Hietaharju. He has also studied with Professor Martin Schmeding at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig. In addition, he has participated in numerous masterclasses in Finland and across Europe, with teachers such as David Briggs, Ken Cowan, Zusana Ferjencikova, Bernard Foccroulle, Matthias Havinga, Nathan Laube, Olivier Latry, Maija Lehtonen, Jean-Baptiste Monnot, Daniel Moult, Erwan Le Prado, Pieter van Dijk, and Ulrich Walther. He is currently completing his master’s degree in organ performance and will give his diploma concert in autumn 2026.
Ohtamaa gave his first solo organ recital in Kiiminki in 2016 at the age of 15. Since then, he has performed actively both as a soloist and with various ensembles. He has appeared at several major Finnish music festivals, including the Lahti Organ Festival, Turku Organ Festival, Mänttä Music Festival, and the UML Festival in Oulu. He also performed during the opening week of the new Rieger organ at Helsinki Music Centre and later appeared there as a soloist in Francis Poulenc’s Organ Concerto. In 2026, he will undertake two major concert projects: J.S. Bach’s The Art of Fugue and Max Reger’s monumental Three Chorale Fantasias, Op. 52.
UPCOMING CONCERTS
Max Reger (1873-1916)
Drei Choralphantasien, Op. 52
Max Reger’s chorale fantasy trilogy is rarely performed as a complete cycle, even though the work is exceptionally rich in ideas and forms a coherent whole.
The first fantasy, “Alle Menschen müssen sterben,” is built around a descending interval (’todesmotiv’) symbolizing death. Lacking a fugue and at times fragmentary in form, it is the most structurally open of the three and paints a somber picture of life’s transience. Reger himself wrote in a letter to Karl Straube: “If any fatalities occur while listening to this ‘crime,’ I promise to cover the funeral expenses.”
The middle fantasy is based on the chorale “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme.” The composer described its opening stillness as that of a cemetery, disturbed by flashes of lightning. Out of the silence emerges the chorale melody, which may be heard as the voice of a calling angel. Gradually, the music expands into a massive tumult, as the dead rise from their graves. A recurring rhythmic motif in the pedal symbolizes their movement. Before the concluding fugue in E major—a celebration of the elect—the music pauses in a contemplative mood, perhaps alluding to the message of the Last Supper.
The third fantasy is joyful in character, reflecting eternal praise and the glory of God. Its structure is clear: a brief introduction followed by variations on the chorale “Hallelujah! Gott zu loben” and a fugue. In itself, this clarity stands in marked contrast especially to the fragmentation of the first fantasy. As a whole, each part of the opus appears more “complete” than the previous one, as if progressing toward ultimate transfiguration.
