Olivier Latry

{{Infobox person

| name = Olivier Latry

| birth_date = {{birth date|1962|02|22|df=y}}

| image = Olivier Latry.png

| image_upright =

| caption = Olivier Latry at the organ of Lille Cathedral

| birth_place = Boulogne-sur-Mer, France

| death_date =

| death_place =

| education = {{ubl|Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris|Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Boulogne-Billancourt|Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Saint-Maur-des-Fossés}}

| occupation = {{plainlist|

Organist
Improviser
Composer
Academic teacher

}}

| organization = {{plainlist|

}}

| notable_works = Salve Regina

| title = Organiste titulaire de Notre-Dame-de-Paris

Professeur d'orgue à l'Conservatoire de Paris

| predecessor = {{ubl|NDdP: Pierre Cochereau|CdP: Michel Chapuis}}

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|Marie-Thérèse Triton||2011|end=div}}
{{marriage|Shin Young Lee|2012}}

}}

| children = 3

| awards =

}}

Olivier Jean-Claude Latry{{Cite web|title=Latry, Olivier Jean-Claude - Biographie|url=https://whoswho.fr/bio/olivier-latry_45178|website=Who's Who in France}} ({{IPA|fr|ɔlivje ʒɑ̃ klod latʁi}}; born 22 February 1962) is a French organist, improviser, teacher and composer who has served as one of the four titular organists of Notre-Dame de Paris since 1985 and is a professor of organ in the Conservatoire de Paris.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110425201115/http://www.musique-sacree-notredamedeparis.fr/spip.php?article90 Olivier Latry's biography] {{in lang|fr|en}}

Family and education

Latry was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France, the youngest of three sons of Robert Latry and Andrée Thomas. His early interest in the organ came from listening to recordings of Pierre Cochereau, organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1955 to 1984. His first experience on a church organ was in 1974, when he played at the wedding of a family friend. During the homily, his arms supposedly fell onto the organ console, causing a dissonant sound.{{Cite web|date=16 August 2015|title=Olivier Latry "On The Bench with Dr. Carol"|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuNVoJVYJp0&t=32s|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|publisher=YouTube}}

Having begun his musical studies in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Latry later enrolled in an organ class at the conservatory in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés near Paris with the blind organist Gaston Litaize, whom he had heard in concert, and took composition classes with Jean-Claude Raynaud at the Conservatoire de Paris. Both his teachers had studied under Marcel Dupré.

Latry's first wife was Marie-Thérèse Triton, whom he divorced in 2011. Since 2012 he has been married to Shin Young Lee. He is the father of three children.

Career

File:Olivier Latry im Wiener Stephansdom 09-10-2020 2.jpg, in 2020.]]

In 1983 Latry was appointed professor of organ in the Catholic University of Paris and subsequently held similar roles at conservatories in Rheims, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés (in 1990, as Litaize's successor) and Paris (in 1995, a post held jointly with Michel Bouvard).[https://web.archive.org/web/20101205155443/http://www.musique-sacree-notredamedeparis.fr/spip.php?rubrique1 Sacred Music at Notre-Dame de Paris] in French[https://www.francemusique.fr/emissions/les-grands-entretiens/25-min-olivier-latry-organiste-2-5-se-rend-compte-que-si-ne-dompte-pas-l-orgue-il-vous-bouffe-83140 On se rend compte que si on ne dompte pas l’orgue, il vous bouffe !] on France Musique[https://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/olivier-latry-le-veilleur-du-grand-orgue-20190726 Olivier Latry, le veilleur du grand orgue de Notre-Dame] on Le Figaro

In 1985, following the death of Pierre Cochereau, he became one of the four co-titular organists at Notre-Dame in Paris alongside Yves Devernay, Philippe Lefèbvre and Jean-Pierre Leguay. He is the only one still in the role.{{Cite news|url=https://www.la-croix.com/Religion/Actualite/La-Marseillaise-jouee-a-l-orgue-de-Notre-Dame-de-Paris-2015-11-16-1380885|title=La Marseillaise jouée à l'orgue de Notre-Dame de Paris|date=16 November 2015|access-date=13 August 2021|newspaper=La Croix}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.francemusique.fr/emissions/classic-club/du-desordre-non-des-orgues-12420|title=Du désordre ? Non, des orgues|website=France Musique|date=30 September 2015 |access-date=13 August 2021}}[https://www.conservatoiredeparis.fr/fr/enseignant/olivier-latry Olivier LATRY]{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} on the site of the Conservatoire de Paris

As a concert performer Latry has played in over 40 countries across five continents, in particular in the United States, where he gave his first recitals in 1986 at the invitation of the American Guild of Organists.{{Cite web|url=https://www.concertorganists.com/artists/olivier-latry/|title=Olivier Latry|website=Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc.|access-date=13 August 2021}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.ladolcevolta.com/|title=Accueil|website=La Dolce Volta|access-date=13 August 2021}}[https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/musique/notre-dame-de-paris-olivier-latry-un-appetit-d-orgue-22-03-2019-8037882.php Notre-Dame de Paris : Olivier Latry, un appétit d’orgue] Le Parisien

On 7 December 2024 Latry was the first to play the organ of Notre-Dame in public during the reopening ceremony five years after the fire that damaged parts of the cathedral in 2019. Although the instrument survived intact, it needed to be cleaned and restored, and Latry tuned it at nighttime ahead of the reopening.[https://www.npr.org/2024/12/06/nx-s1-5220215/notre-dame-cathedral-organist-returns-for-grand-reopening NPR, "Notre Dame organist returns for the cathedral's grand reopening"], 7 December 2024.

Musicianship and style

Although Latry does not specialize in the music of a specific time period, he has gained a reputation for performing music by his contemporaries. He is renowned for performing the music of Olivier Messiaen, whose complete organ works he has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon. He is also a distinguished improviser, in the French tradition exemplified by Charles Tournemire, Dupré, Cochereau and others. Influenced by his Catholic faith, he based his 2007 work for organ and choir, Salve Regina, a reflection on the Gregorian Marian hymn, on previous improvisations.Réjean Beaucage, Olivier Latry: Playing the King of Instruments, La Scena Musicale - Vol. 8, No.10 July 2003, accessed at [http://www.scena.org/lsm/sm8-10/Olivier-Latry-en.htm Olivier Latry: Playing the King of Instruments] 6 November 2020[https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2019/04/17/olivier-latry-c-est-un-miracle-que-l-orgue-ait-echappe-aux-flammes_5451328_3232.html Olivier Latry : « C’est un miracle que l’orgue de Notre-Dame ait échappé aux flammes »] on Le Monde