Olivier Latry im Wiener Stephansdom 09-10-2020 2

Olivier Jean-Claude Latry (born 22 February 1962) is a French

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

, improviser, and composer. He is professor of organ in the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. He became interested in the organ after listening to recordings by

Pierre Cochereau Pierre Eugène Charles Cochereau (9 July 1924 – 6 March 1984) was a French organist, improviser, composer, and pedagogue. Cochereau was titular organist of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1955 to his death in 1984 and was responsibl ...

. His first experience with a church organ was in 1974, when he played the organ at his local church at his older brother's

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

. During the

homily A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...

, his arms supposedly fell on the organ

console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

, causing a rather dissonant noise in the church. Latry was born in

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Department ...

, the youngest of three children (Christian, Jean-Yves, Olivier) born to Robert Latry and Andrée Thomas. After having begun his musical studies in his hometown, in 1978 he enrolled in the organ class under the blind organist

Gaston Litaize Gaston Gilbert Litaize (11 August 1909 - 5 August 1991) was a French organist and composer. Considered one of the 20th century masters of the French organ, he toured, recorded, worked at churches, and taught students in and around Paris. Blind ...

at the Academy of Saint-Maur who he heard in concert, and took composition classes with Jean-Claude Raynaud at the Paris Academy. Both studied under

Marcel Dupré Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré () (3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré was titular o ...

. After becoming Professor of Organ in the Catholic Institute of Paris in 1983 and subsequently at the Academy of Rheims, he succeeded Gaston Litaize at the Academy of Saint-Maur in 1990. In 1995, Latry was named professor of organ in the Academy of Paris, a post held jointly with

Michel Bouvard Michel Bouvard (born 17 March 1955 in Argenteuil, Val-d'Oise) is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Savoie department and is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french ...

. In 1985, at 23 years of age, Latry was awarded the post of one of four ''titulaires des grandes orgues'' of Notre-Dame,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

together with

Yves Devernay Yves Marie-Édouard Devernay ( Tourcoing 9 May 1937 – Tourcoing 10 December 1990) was a 20th-century French organist, improviser and composer. Biography First a pupil of Jeanne Joulain at the Roubaix conservatory, in 1958 he joined Rol ...

, Philippe Lefèbvre and

Jean-Pierre Leguay Jean-Pierre Leguay (born 4 July 1939 in Dijon) is a French organist, composer and improviser. He studied with André Marchal, Gaston Litaize, Rolande Falcinelli (organ), Simone Plé-Caussade (counterpoint), and Olivier Messiaen (composition), ...

, following the death of

. In addition to this role and his teaching positions, Latry carries out a career as concert performer: he has played in over forty countries across five continents, in particular in the United States, where he made his first tour in 1986, becoming one of the most popular French organists in that country. Latry does not intend to specialize in music of a specific time period, but has gained a reputation for performing music by his contemporaries. He is renowned for his performances of the works of

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century. His m ...

and has recorded the complete organ works of Messiaen for

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

. Latry is also considered to be a distinguished improviser, in the tradition of a distinguished French line that runs from

Charles Tournemire Charles Arnould Tournemire (22 January 1870 – 3 or 4 November 1939) was a French composer and organist, notable partly for his improvisations, which were often rooted in the music of Gregorian chant. His compositions include eight symphoni ...

through to

. Influenced by his Roman Catholic faith, he based his 2007 organ composition ''

Salve Regina The "Salve Regina" (, ; meaning 'Hail Queen'), also known as the "Hail Holy Queen", is a Marian hymn and one of four Marian antiphons sung at different seasons within the Christian liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. The Salve Regina ...

'', reflections on the Gregorian Marian hymn, on previous improvisations.''Olivier Latry : « C’est un miracle que l’orgue de Notre-Dame ait échappé aux flammes »''
on ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

References

External links

Olivier Latry's biography
in French and English {{DEFAULTSORT:Latry, Olivier People from Boulogne-sur-Mer 1962 births Living people Organ improvisers French classical organists French male organists Cathedral organists Pedal piano players Deutsche Grammophon artists Conservatoire de Paris alumni Conservatoire de Paris faculty 21st-century organists 21st-century French male musicians 20th-century organists 20th-century French male musicians 20th-century French musicians 21st-century French musicians Male classical organists