Composers

Composer, organist and improviser Thierry Escaich is a unique figure in contemporary music and one of the most important French composers of his generation. The three elements of Escaich’s artistry are inseparable, allowing him to express himself as a performer, creator and collaborator in a wide range of settings.

Escaich composes in many genres and forms, always exploring new sound horizons. His catalogue numbers over 100 works which, with their lyrical, rich harmonies and rhythmic energy, have attracted a wide audience. Drawing from the French line of composition of Ravel, Messiaen and Dutilleux, and imbued with references from contemporary, folk and spiritual music, the distinctive sound-world of Escaich’s music is anchored by an obsessive rhythmic drive and an overarching sense of architecture.

This very personal style encompasses both intimate works and large-scale pieces, such as Chaconne for orchestra; oratorio Le Dernier Évangile and a double concerto for violin and cello, Miroir d’Ombres. His first opera Claude, on a libretto by Robert Badinter after Victor Hugo’s Claude Gueux, was premiered at the Opéra de Lyon in March 2013 to great acclaim. His most recent new works include a Viola Concerto for Antoine Tamestit commissioned by Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, and Organ Concerto No.3 which receives its European premiere by Escaich and Orchestre National de Lyon in November 2017.

Escaich has composed many works for the organ including solo works, three concerti and the symphonic poem La Barque Solaire for organ and orchestra. Escaich’s Organ Concerto No.1 has been performed by orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Orchestre National de Lyon, and was selected as a highlight of the organ concerto repertoire in Gramophone: “His concerto exploits the full sonic and colour ranges of orchestra and organ in this thrilling three-movement work, the second movement rising to an awe-inspiring climax only topped by the shattering coda of the finale.”

His works are performed by leading orchestras in Europe and North America and by musicians such as Lisa Batiashvili and François Leleux, Valery Gergiev, Lothar Zagrosek, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Emmanuelle Bertrand, Paul Meyer, John Mark Ainsley and the Quatuor Voce. Escaich has been Composer-in-Residence with the Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre National de Lille and the Paris Chamber Orchestra and his music has been honoured by four ‘Victoires de la Musique’ awards (2003, 2006, 2011 and 2017). Escaich continues to teach composition and improvisation at the Paris Conservatoire, where he himself studied and obtained eight ‘premiers prix’. In 2013 he received the honour of being appointed to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Thierry Escaich’s career as a composer is closely linked to his career as an organist, which has led him to be one of the ambassadors of the great French school of improvisation, in the wake of Maurice Duruflé, whom he succeeded as organist of Saint Étienne du Mont in Paris. He appears in recitals internationally, combining repertoire pieces with his own compositions and improvisations. His passion for cinema has led him to perform ‘cine-concerts’, improvised accompaniments on both the organ and piano for silent films such as Phantom of the Opera and Metropolis.

Highlights of the 2017/18 season include several performances of Escaich’s music at the Radio France Presences Festival, the world premiere of his Viola Concerto for Antoine Tamestit with Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Stéphane Denève and the European Premiere of Organ Concerto No.3 with Escaich as soloist alongside the Orchestre National de Lyon and Leonard Slatkin in Lyon and at the Paris Philharmonie. He returns to the Paris Philharmonie for a cine-concert improvisation, which he will also perform at the Berliner Philharmonie and Rotterdam’s de Doelen. Elsewhere this season Escaich performs Saint-Saens Symphony No.3 with Orchestre National de France/Emmanuel Krivine and has engagements with La Monnaie Symhpony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Mariinsky and Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille; he performs in recital at Mariinsky Concert Hall and Stockholm Concert Hall among others.

Many of Escaich’s works have been recorded by Accord/Universal. Most recently the disc Baroque Song was released on Sony Classical to critical acclaim. His 2011 release Les Nuits hallucinées crowned his residence with the Orchestre National de Lyon, and received numerous distinctions, including a ’Choc de l’année’ from Classica magazine as an outstanding release of the year.

(2017/18 season / 713 words. Not to be altered without permission).

-----------------------------------2015

> Premieres

14/01/15
CONCERTO POUR ORCHESTRE, for orchestra
Orchestre de Paris - Cond.: Paavo Järvi
Philharmonie de Paris - Paris - France

31/07/15
SEXTET, for sextet
Cl.: Jerry Chae
Vla: Hung-Wei Huang
Cello: Sangmin Park
Dbasse : Michinori Bunya
Pno: Tae-Hyung Kim
Perc.: Adrien Perruchon
Alpensia Concert Hall, Great Mountains Music Festival - Alpensia - South Korea

30/09/15
LITANIES POUR UN JUBILE, for grand choir (4 voices), choir (2 voices), brass ensemble, percussions and 2 organs
Choeur and Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg - Voix de Stras’ - Studients of Académie supérieure de musique de Strasbourg (brass ensemble and percussions)
Grand organ: Vincent Dubois
Choir organ: Thierry Escaich
Cond.: Catherine Bolzinger
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg - Strasbourg – France

> News

- CD release: Études baroques for piano, by Béatrice Berrut, for the label Aparté AP 100.

- DVD release: Claude opera for solo voices, choir and orchestra, libretto by Robert Badinter from the novel by Victor Hugo “Claude Gueux”, by the Orchestre, Chœur and Maîtrise de l’Opéra de Lyon, under the direction of Jérémie Rhorer, staging by Olivier Py, for the label BelAir classiques (BAC 118).

- Elected on June 10, 2015 at the Institut de France, Académie des Beaux-Arts, in musical composition section, his academician’s sword was presented to him, at the end of the ceremony, by his sword Committee.

- Music SACD 2015 Prize.

-----------------------------------2016

> Premieres

07/05/16
PSALMOS, for orchestra
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra - Cond.: Louis Langrée
Cincinnati – USA

From 17/06/16 to 19/06/16
CRIS, oratorio for narrator, choir, accordion, percussions and 8 cellos
Based on the novel by Laurent Gaudé
Les Cris de Paris - Trio KDM - Nomos, ensemble de violoncelles - Narrator: Pierre Val - Cond.: Geoffroy Jourdain
Théâtre de Verdun - Verdun / Ecurey - France

09/07/16
SALVE REGINA, for a cappella choir
Cappella Amsterdam - Cond.: Daniel Reuss
Eglise du Collège Saint-Michel - Fribourg - Suisse

> News

- CD release: Evocation IV, for organ, by Vincent Dubois, for the label Aeolus (AE 11101).

-----------------------------------2017

> Premieres

18/04/17
L’AUBE EXALTEE, for string sextet (2 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos)
Quatuor Capuçon - Vla: Marie Chilemme - Cello: Christian Pierre La Marca
Festival de Pâques - Aix-en-Provence - France

18/07/17
QUATRE VISAGES DU TEMPS, 3rd concerto for organ and orchestra
Ensemble Kanazawa - Cond.: Michiyoshi Inoue
Organ: Thierry Escaich
Ishikawa Ongakudo Concert Hall - Kanazawa - Japan

> News

- CD release: Psalmos, for orchestra, by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Louis Langrée, for the label of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

- CD release: Ground VI, for 2 clarinets, by Béatrice Berne and Jean-Marc Fessard, for the label Kairos / Clarinet Classics - CC0071.

- Monographic CD release: Baroque song for orchestra, Erinnerung for string orchestra, Concerto pour clarinette and orchestra, and Suite symphonique de Claude for orchestra, by Paul Meyer (clarinet) and the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Lyon, under the direction of Alexandre Bloch, for the label Sony Classical - 88985430192.

- Victoires de la Musique Classique 2017: Winner Composer.
_{Cris, for narrator, choir, accordion, percussions and 8 cellos
Oratorio based on the novel by Laurent Gaudé
Les Cris de Paris - Trio KDM - Nomos, ensemble de violoncelles - Narrator: Pierre Val - Cond.: Geoffroy Jourdain
From 17/06/16 to 19/06/16: Théâtre de Verdun - Verdun / Ecurey - France}

- CD release: Night’s birds, for cello, by Henri Demarquette, for the label DECCA - 4814968.

-----------------------------------2018

> Premieres

11/02/18
LA PISTE DES CHANTS, for children choir and chamber orchestra
Maîtrise de Radio France - Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France
Cond.: Mikko Franck
Festival Présences - Radio France - Paris - France

17/02/18
LA NUIT DES CHANTS, concerto for viola and orchestra
Radio Filharmonisch Orkest - Vla: Antoine Tamestit
Cond.: Stéphane Denève
Concertgebouw - Amsterdam - Netherlands

> News

- Composer of the 28^th Présences 2018 Festival of Radio France from February 6 to 11.

-----------------------------------2019

> Premieres

09/06/19
VERS L’ESPRIT, for organ
Henri-Franck Beaupérin
Abbaye - Sylvanès - France

12/09/19
RITUAL OPENING, for orchestra
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra - Cond.: Valery Gergiev
Gergiev Festival Rotterdam - Rotterdam - Netherlands

> News

- CD release of Mecanic Song for wind quintet and piano, by Les Vents Français, for the label Warner Classics - 0190295548704.

-----------------------------------2020

> Premieres

19/06/20
VERS LES CIMES, for flute solo
Philippe Bernold
Festival des Forêts - Compiègne - France

> News

- Composer in residence at the Orchestre d’Auvergne for the season 2019-2020.

- Composer in residence at Auvers-sur-Oise Festival from May to July 2020.