Olivier Latry inhabits the four elements of fire, water, earth and air

By Alexander Hall, 01 June 2023

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“the Dutchman’s vessel steering thrillingly into the upper reaches of the Beaufort scale”

Reviewed at Royal Festival Hall, London on 31 May 2023

Messiaen, Apparition de l'Église éternelle, for solo organ

Liszt, Légende no. 1 "Saint François d'Assise: la prédication aux oiseaux", S 175

Saint-Saëns, Carnival of the Animals: Aquarium (arr. Shin-Young Lee)

Saint-Saëns, Carnival of the Animals: Aviary (arr. Shin-Young Lee)

Saint-Saëns, Carnival of the Animals: The Swan (arr. Shin-Young Lee)

Franck, Trois Pièces pour Grand Orgue: Pièce héroïque, no. 3

Wagner, Tristan and Isolde: Prelude and Liebestod (arr. by Edwin Lemare)

Wagner, Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman): Overture (arr. by Edwin Lemare)

Wagner, Rienzi, der Letze der Tribunen: Allmächt'ger Vater (arr. by Sigfrid Karg-Elert)

Wagner, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Prelude to Act 1 (arr. by Edwin Lemare)

Latry, Improvisation on the British national anthem

Olivier Latry, Organ

French connections: Sydney Symphony performs Saint-Saëns

David Larkin, 11th July

In the run-up to Bastille Day, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra offers an entirely French programme under the baton of Stéphane Denève, with Olivier Latry as organ soloist.

****1

Beauty and tribute: Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philadelphia Orchestra

Cameron Kelsall, 17th May

In his second week of local performances, the Finnish composer-conductor offers a lush performance of music by a beloved collaborator, the late Kaija Saariaho.

****1

Personal reflections: Esa-Pekka Salonen's Organ Concerto in Berlin

Elena Luporini, 19th January

Two forces of nature meet when Esa-Pekka Salonen and Olivier Latry share the stage for the German premiere of Salonen's own Organ Concerto, with a programme that also includes incandescent Bartók.

****1

Gallic double act: Latry and Lefebvre in Budapest

Catherine Ennis, 22nd May

The grand finale to Müpa's mini-festival to celebrate ten years since the installation of the organ in its concert hallwas as spectacular a musical event as you could wish for.

*****

From pulpit to fairground: a fête à la française

Mark Pullinger, 10th March

Paris in the springtime: cold winds, driving rain and even a flurry of snow. Tonight, courtesy of Debussy’s Printemps, something a little more seasonal raised the temperature.

****1

Microtones and dancing polar bears: Finland on the South Bank

Mark Pullinger, 26th June

A programme of works by Kaija Saariaho and Jean Sibelius promised a blast of Nordic ice down the back of the neck, but the performances under fellow Finn Esa-Pekka Salonen raised the temperature considerably higher than anticipated.

****1

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Alexander Hall

Alexander Hall divides his time between London and Hamburg, where he had a career in academic administration and teaching. He reviews for Bachtrack and Opera Today, and has also reviewed for Classical Source. A connoisseur of the great orchestras of the world, his musical memories stretch back to Karajan/Berlin Phil, Mravinsky/Leningrad Phil, Bernstein/Vienna Phil, and he has seen most of the great conductors from the past, including Böhm, Klemperer, Kubelik, Ormandy and Szell.

Olivier Latry inhabits the four elements of fire, water, earth and air at the Royal Festival Hall