International Organ Interpretation Competition
Auditorium de Lyon
17 to 23 June 2019
The Competition organisers thank the young musicians and congratulate them for the excellence of their performance. The jury of the preliminary round selected 10 candidates who are admitted to participate in the public rounds to be held in Lyon, in June 2019. Find out below their name :
Competition President: Claude Samuel
Jury President: Olivier Latry
ABOUT THE COMPETITION
The Olivier Messiaen Competition is a contemporary piano competition established in 1967 as part of the Royan Festival and held in Paris until 2007. The baton has been passed to Bruno Messina, Director of AIDA (Isère’s arts distribution agency) to revive the competition in line with the artistic policy of the Maison Messiaen, a musicians’ residence in Matheysine, in south Isère.
The Auditorium-Orchestre National de Lyon was considered the ideal partner to accompany the relaunch of this international event which in 2019 will be dedicated to organ interpretation and presided over by Claude Samuel, founder of the Olivier Messiaen Competition, former head of music at Radio France, and author of several books of interviews with the composer. Indeed, the organ is closely associated with the work of Olivier Messiaen, organist for over 70 years of the Cavaillé-Coll grand organ at La Trinité Church in Paris. This particular instrument is also an important facet of the identity of the Auditorium de Lyon which houses a remarkable example that is unique in France.
Through the Festival Berlioz held in La Côte-Saint-André, AIDA—which produces this festival and heads up the Maison Messiaen—and the Auditorium-Orchestre National de Lyon have forged a closely collaborative artistic relationship. What better venue than the Auditorium de Lyon and its Cavaillé-Coll organ to host organists from all over the world? Installed in the Auditorium de Lyon in 1977, this 82-stop organ was originally built in 1878 for the Palais du Trocadéro in Paris before being modernised and transferred to the Palais de Chaillot. The world premieres of many works have been performed on the organ, most notably Les Corps Glorieux by Messiaen, performed by the composer himself on 15 April 1945. Restored to its original splendour in 2013 (by Michel Gaillard, Manufacture Aubertin), it is the only grand organ in France outside Paris.
The 2019 competition will give particular onus to original composition as candidates will be required to perform a new piece in the final round. This piece was commissioned from Philippe Hersant, who will also have a seat on the jury alongside a number of other international figures, all experts in the organ and Messiaen.
For the relaunch in Lyon in June 2019, the competition will extend beyond Messiaen to establish a week of competition at the highest level, widely accessible to anyone who is curious to find out more about this orchestral instrument and the level of performance you expect from an international contest. The competition will be an integral part of a two-week programme honouring the instrument to create moments for families to share, celebratory concerts and recitals of the highest calibre.
Contact: concours@olivier-messiaen.eu