Olivier Latry

“An encore returned us to the disciplined world of Bach, concluding a stunning recital by one of the world’s greatest organists.”
Herford Times

Established as the leading worldwide ambassador for his instrument, French organist Olivier Latry has performed in the world’s most prestigious venues, been the guest of top orchestras throughout the world under renowned conductors, recorded for major labels and premiered an impressive number of works. Named titular organist at Notre-Dame in Paris at the age of 23 and organist Emeritus at the Orchestre National de Montréal since 2012, Olivier Latry is an accomplished, thoughtful and adventurous musician, exploring all possible fields of the organ music, with an exceptional talent as an improviser.

Olivier Latry regularly appears in venues like the Berlin Philharmonie, Philharmonie de Paris, Walt Disney Hall Los Angeles, San Francisco’s Davies Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Vienna’s Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Palace of Arts Budapest, Royal Festival Hall and Royal Albert Hall in London, KKL Lucerne, Suntory Hall, Rotterdam’s de Doelen, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, and as a soloist with orchestras including Berliner Philharmoniker, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, RSO Wien, Hong-Kong Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre National de France, under conductors Myung-Whun Chung, Andris Nelsons, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo Vänskä, Rafael Payare, Stéphane Denève, Krzysztof Urbanski, Fabien Gabel, Christoph Eschenbach, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Alain Altinoglu, Kent Nagano, Edo de Waart, and Jukka-Pekka Saraste.

In 2023, Olivier premiered Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Sinfonia Concertante for organ and orchestra with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchestre de Paris and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen himself. Recent highlights include the Swiss, French and North American premieres of Pascal Dusapin’s Waves for organ and orchestra with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Other past premieres have included Kaija Saariaho’s Maan Varjot for organ and orchestra with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre National de Lyon and Philharmonia Orchestra in 2014, and Michael Gandolfi’s concerto with Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2015. He also premiered Benoît Mernier’s organ concerto for the inauguration of Brussels’ BOZAR new organ in 2017. In 2019, he played the German premiere of Thierry Escaich’s Third Organ Concerto, with Dresdner Philharmonie and Stéphane Denève.

His strong attachment to the French organ repertoire led him to record Olivier Messiaen’s complete works for organ for Deutsche Grammophon which he also performed in recitals in Paris, London and New York. In 2005, he recorded a César Franck album for Deutsche Grammophon. Among several other recordings, Olivier also recorded Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No.3 with Christoph Eschenbach and the Philadelphia Orchestra for Ondine. In 2013, he released Trois Siècles d’Orgue à Notre-Dame de Paris on Naïve featuring music written by former and current titular organists at Notre-Dame. In 2016, he recorded a recital on the Philharmonie de Paris’ Rieger organ for Warner Classics. In 2019, he started a collaboration with La Dolce Volta label with an album called Bach to the Future. Recorded on the celebrated organ of Notre Dame, the album features Bach’s transcriptions and original works specially adapted to this extraordinary instrument. His latest album on La Dolce Volta, Liszt Inspirations, was recorded on the organ of the Philharmonie de Paris and released in 2021.

A former student of Gaston Litaize, Olivier Latry taught at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris until 2024, and is a recipient of numerous international distinctions and awards worldwide, including the Prix de la Fondation Cino et Simone Del Duca (Institut de France – Académie des Beaux-Arts) in 2000, and Honoris Causa Fellowships from the North and Midlands School of Music (UK) in 2006, and from the Royal College of Organists (UK) in 2007. He was also named International Performer of the Year by the American Guild of Organists in April 2009, and received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from McGill University in Montreal in 2010.