Artists

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 NotreDame 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 such orchestras as the Berlin
Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony,
NHK Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, 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 like Myung-Whun Chung, Andris Nelsons, EsaPekka 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 Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and the Finish Radio
Symphony 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 Montreal. 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 the 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 the Dresden Philharmoniker 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 n.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 titualr organists at Notre-Dame.
In 2016 he recorded a recital on the Philharmonie de Paris’ Rieger organ for Wafner
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 has 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