Andres Uibo

Andres Uibo (born 16 April 1956) is an Estonian organist, composer, music producer and pedagogue. He has been the organist of St. Nicholas Church in Tallinn, now the Niguliste Museum-Concert Hall, since 1981 and has taught at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre since 1994, becoming professor of organ in 2005.^[1][2][3] In 1987 he founded the Tallinn International Organ Festival; he later became artistic director of the Suure-Jaani Music Festival and initiated the Tallinnfest B-A-C-H series at Niguliste in 2001.^[2][4][5][6] In 2001 he was awarded the Medal Class of the Order of the White Star.^[7]

Uibo was born in Kivi-Vigala.^[1] He began studying music with his father and continued at Pärnu Music School. In 1971–1972 he studied at Tallinn Music High School, graduated as a pianist from Tallinn Music School in 1976, and completed his studies at Tallinn State Conservatory in 1981 as a music teacher, choral conductor and organist, studying organ with Hugo Lepnurm.^[1][2] Between 1988 and 1991 he furthered his studies with Leo Krämer in Germany and Ton Koopman in Finland, and from 1992 to 1994 he studied at the Lübeck Academy of Music with Hans Gebhard on a scholarship from the City of Lübeck.^[2]

Since 1981 Uibo has been the concert organist of St. Nicholas Church in Tallinn.^[2][8] In 1994 he joined the faculty of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, where he later became professor of organ; he also worked as a producer for the state concert agency Eesti Kontsert.^[2][3][8] According to the Estonian Music Information Centre, his students have included Aare-Paul Lattik, Ulla Krigul and Pille Metsson.^[2]

In 1987 Uibo initiated the annual Tallinn Organ Festival, later known in English as the Tallinn International Organ Festival.^[2][4] He has also served as artistic director of the Suure-Jaani Music Festival, founded in 1998, and the Tallinnfest B-A-C-H series, which grew out of a Niguliste concert series he began in 2001.^[2][5][6] Profile and review pieces in Sirp have highlighted both his recital activity and his role as an organizer of Estonia's organ-festival life.^[9][10]

Uibo has appeared widely as a recitalist in Estonia and abroad. In 2017 ERR reported that he was the first Estonian organist invited to perform in the BachOrgelFestival at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig.^[11] He has also performed at the Malta International Organ Festival, where the Times of Malta reviewed his recital at Saint John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta in 2015 and covered further performances in 2016.^[12][8]

As a composer, Uibo has written organ works, chamber music, choral works and music for symphony orchestra.^[2][8] His organ piece Then I saw... won first prize and the audience prize at a competition for new compositions in Tallinn in 2003.^[2] His works have been performed at venues including the Great Hall of the St Petersburg Philharmonia, the Notre-Dame de Paris, the Duomo di Milano and concert halls in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.^[2]

His album of original music, Apocalypsis symphony, was released in 2006, and the work later reappeared on the 2023 LP Niguliste Church Organ alongside his Three Chorale Meditations.^[13][14] Reviewing a Malta performance, Anthony Hart in the Times of Malta described Apocalypsis Symphony as a modern programmatic work based on passages from the Book of Revelation.^[12] In a review of a recording that included Uibo's 2005 choral work Antiphons, MusicWeb International described him as an active promoter of Estonian music abroad and characterised the work as meditative, reflective music rooted in Orthodox liturgical tradition.^[15] A 2025 review in Positive Feedback singled out the 2023 album Niguliste Church Organ for its performance and sound quality.^[16]

Uibo is also the author, with Jüri Kuuskemaa, of the book Historical Organs in Estonia, and he has edited published editions of Artur Kapp's organ works.^[17][2]

Uibo received annual music prizes from the Cultural Endowment of Estonia in 1995 and 1999.^[18] In 2001 he was awarded the Medal Class of the Order of the White Star.^[7] In 2006 he received the Estonian state cultural award for the double CD 56 Eesti rahvalaulutöötlust orelile and his creative work of 2005, and the Estonian Music Council's award for significant and outstanding contribution to musical life for two decades of leading an international organ festival and organizing other important music events.^[19][20]

• Historical Organs in Estonia (with Jüri Kuuskemaa, 1994)^[17]
• Apocalypsis: Symphony for Organ in Five Movements (score, 2005)^[21]
• Apocalypsis symphony (CD, 2006)^[13]
• Paide Church Organ (LP, 2022)^[13]
• Niguliste Church Organ (LP, 2023)^[13]