The French organist Olivier Latry has established himself as one of the leading ambassadors for his instrument. He has explored all areas of organ music and possesses exceptional talent as an improviser. At the age of 23, he was appointed titular organist at Notre-Dame de Paris, and since 2012 he is Organist Emeritus of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
He has performed in renowned venues worldwide, including the Philharmonie de Paris, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, the Vienna Musikverein, the Zurich Tonhalle, Müpa Budapest, Musiikkitalo in Helsinki, the Royal Albert Hall, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.
As a soloist he has performed with leading orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the NHK Symphony Orchestra, under conductors including Alain Altinoglu, Myung-Whun Chung, Kent Nagano, Andris Nelsons, Rafael Payare, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Krzysztof Urbański, Osmo Vänskä and Edo de Waart. In 2024/25 he was artist in residence with the Dresden Philharmonic.
Performance highlights have included the world premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Sinfonia Concertante for organ (2023), Kaija Saariaho’s Maan varjot under Stéphane Denève, Michael Gandolfi’s Ascending Light with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Benoît Mernier’s Organ Concerto at Bozar, Brussels, along with the first performances of Dusapin’s Waves and Thierry Escaich’s Third Organ Concerto.
His discography with labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, Naïve, Warner Classics and La Dolce Volta includes a recording of Messiaen’s complete organ works, a Franck album, Saint-Saëns’s Third Symphony, a recital on the Rieger organ of the Philharmonie de Paris and the albums Trois siècles d’orgue à Notre-Dame de Paris, Bach to the Future and Liszt Inspirations.
Until 2024 Olivier Latry taught at the Paris Conservatoire. He has won numerous international awards, including ‘International Performer of the Year’ from the American Guild of Organists in 2009 and an honorary doctorate from McGill University in Montreal in 2010.
