Livestreams & Broadcasts
Orchestre National de Lille | January 2021
Thierry Escaich: Organ Concerto No.1
Alexandre Bloch (conductor)
Click to watch on YouTube
Zaryadye Hall Recital | February 2021
Click to watch on YouTube
Composing highlights
2014/15 and 2015/16 were significant seasons for Thierry Escaich, with the premiere of his Double Concerto for Lisa Batiashvili and Francois Leleux by the New York Philharmonic and NDR Hamburg conducted by Alan Gilbert, his Concerto for Orchestra by the Orchestre de Paris/Paavo Järvi to celebrate opening the new Philharmonie de Paris and Psalmos, a concerto for orchestra premiered by Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. The 2016/17 season sees the world premiere of Organ Concerto No.3 with Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa conducted by Michiyoshi Inoue. Also this season a new sextet will be premiered at the Aix en Provence Easter Festival by the Capuçon Quartet and Escaich performs his Organ Concerto No.2 with Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra in October 2016.
Selection of works by Thierry Escaich
Concerto for Orchestra
Premiere 2015, Orchestre de Paris. Published Billaudot.
Vertiges de la croix – 19 mins
Symphony orchestra, after Rubens La Descente de Croix. Published Billaudot.
Baroque Song – 16 mins
Chamber orchestra. Published Billaudot.
Le Barque Solaire (soloist: Thierry Escaich) – 15 mins
Overture for orchestra and organ. Published Billaudot.
Organ Concerto No.1 (soloist: Thierry Escaich) – 28 mins
Solo organ & symphony orchestra. Published Leduc.
Watch on YouTube
Organ Concerto No.2 (soloist: Thierry Escaich) - 20 mins
Solo organ, strings & percussion. Published Leduc.
Organ Concerto No.3 (soloist: Thierry Escaich) - 20 mins
World premiere 2017, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, American
Guild of Organists and Orchestre National de Lyon. Published
Billaudot.
Double Concerto (soloists: Lisa Batiashvili & Francois Leleux) –
26 mins
Double concerto for violin and oboe. Published Billaudot.
Miroir d’Ombres (soloists: Renaud Capucon & Gautier Capucon) – 26 mins
Double concerto for violin and cello + symphony orchestra. Published Billaudot.
Clarinet Concerto (soloist: Paul Meyer) - 23 mins
Clarinet and chamber orchestra. Published Billaudot.
Claude
Opera after Victor Hugo’s story to a libretto by Robert Badinter, World Premiere: Opera de Lyon, 2013, conducted Jeremie Rhorer. Published Billaudot.
The works of Thierry Escaich are published by:
Gerard Billaudot
Editions Alphonse Leduc
Conductors
Conductors who have performed music by Thierry Escaich in recent seasons include:
Alain Altinoglu
Christian Arming
Alexandre Bloch
Semyon Bychkov
Joanna Carneiro
Stéphane Denève
Olari Elts
Mikko Franck
Valery Gergiev
Alan Gilbert
Antony Hermus
Paavo Järvi
Louis Langrée
Jun Märkl
Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Jérémie Rhorer
Pascal Rophé
Leonard Slatkin
Joseph Swensen
Juraj Valcuha
Kazuki Yamada
Christian Zacharias
Organ Concerto repertoire
Concerto Repertoire
Barber Toccata Festiva
Copland Symphony for Organ & Orchestra
Escaich Organ Concerto No.1
Escaich Organ Concerto No.2
Escaich Organ Concerto No.3 Quatre Visages du temps
Escaich La Barque solaire
Poulenc Concerto for Organ in G minor (with strings and timpani)
Saint-Saëns Symphony No.3 in C minor, ‘Organ’
Escaich performs Escaich
Thierry Escaich has composed several works for solo organ and orchestra which he performs himself, as soloist.
“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.” Gramophone
Escaich Organ Concerto No.1 (with symphony orchestra)
Published by Leduc. Duration: 28 mins
Scored for: solo organ + 2.2.2.2 – 2.2.2.0 – timp, 3 perc – strings
Watch on YouTube
Escaich Organ Concerto No.2 (with strings and percussion)
Published by Leduc. Duration: 20 mins
Scored for: solo organ + 2 perc - strings
Escaich Organ Concerto No.3 Quatre Visages du temps (with symphony orchestra)
Published by Billaudot. Duration: 32 mins
Scored for: solo organ + 2.2.2.2 – 2.2.2.0 – 2 perc - strings (8-6-4-4-2)
Listen here
Escaich La Barque Solaire (The Sun Boat)
Published by Billaudot. Duration: 15 mins
Scored for: organ – 3.3.3.3 – 4.3.3.1 – timp, 3 perc, celesta, harp – strings (orchestration exactly matches Saint-Saens 3)
Escaich Suite Symphonique - d'après de l'opéra Claude
Published by Billaudot. Duration: 20 mins
Scored for: solo organ + 2.2.2.2 – 4.3.3.0 – timp, 2 perc, cel, harp, acc - strings
Recitals & Chamber Collaborations
Thierry Escaich is a celebrated recitalist with a huge following. He performs in all the major organ series such as Paris Philharmonie, Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, BBC Proms, Mariinsky Theatre, Royal Festival Hall, Berlin Konzerthaus, New York, Boston, Seattle, Toronto, Tokyo, Dresden, Madrid and across Europe. Escaich offers a range of recital repertoire on request and usually includes improvisations in his programmes, for example:
BBC Proms
Escaich Overture in the Baroque Style (improvisation)
Bach Chorale Prelude 'Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland', BWV 659
Escaich Evocation III (on 'Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland')
Reger Chorale Prelude 'Jauchz, Erd, und Himmel, juble hell', Op.67 No.15
Franck Chorale No.2 in B minor
Liszt Adagio in D flat major, S759
Escaich Triptych on Themes by Liszt (improvisation)
Vienna Konzerthaus
de Grigny Verbum Supernum
Escaich Evocation IV
Brahms 11 Chorale Preludes, Op.122, 10. Herzlich tut mich verlangen
Escaich Etude-Choral, O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden
Alain Variations sur un thème de Clément Jannequin
Alain Litanies
Elgar Organ Sonata, Op.28
Escaich Improvised Symphony
Slovenia
Dupré Symphonie-Passion Op.23
Vierne Méditation Op.31 No.7
Vierne Symphony for Organ No.4 Op.32 - Romance et Final
Escaich Trois poemes pour orgue
Messiaen L´Ascension 'Alleluias sereins d'une âme qui désire le Ciel'
Duruflé Suite for Organ Op.5 - Toccata
Thierry Escaich & Tchalik Quartet
Thierry Escaich Improvisation for Solo Organ
Mozart Church Sonatas For Organ & Strings: No.17 in C major, K.336
Mozart Church Sonatas For Organ & Strings: No.15 in C major, K.328
Mozart Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K.546 for string quartet
Sigfrid Karg-Elert Zwei Stücke, Op.48A for organ and string quartet
Mozart Fantasia in F minor, KV 608 for organ and quartet (transciption)
Interval
Mendelssohn 4 pieces for String Quartet, Op.81: I. Tema con Variazioni
Thierry Escaich Improvisation for Solo Organ
Mendelssohn 4 pieces for String Quartet, Op.81: III. Capriccio
Thierry Escaich Improvisation for Solo Organ
Thierry Escaich Après l'aurore for organ and quartet (world premiere 2022)
Saint-Saëns Duos, Op.8 for organ and quartet (transcription)
Chamber music and collaborations
Escaich performs chamber collaborations including:
Organ & saxophone Quartet with Ellipsos Quartet (including Piazzola, Bach transcriptionns, improvisations)
Organ & string quartet with Tchalik Quartet (new work 2022)
Organ & cello
Organ & accordion with Richard Galliano
Organ & percussion
Organ & choir
Piano & string quartet (including Escaich La Bal)
Silent film improvisations
Thierry Escaich regularly performs ‘ciné-concerts’ where he gives improvised accompaniments to silent films, either on piano or organ. These films can range from short animation, to feature length, familiar titles such as the following:
The Phantom of the Opera (1925, dir. R. Julian)
Metropolis (1927, dir. F. Lang)
La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc [The Passion of Joan of Arc] (1928, dir. C. T. Dreyer)
L’Aurore [Sunrise] (1927, dir. F.W. Murnau)
The Wind (1928, dir. Victor Sjöström)
Highlights include at the Konzerthaus Berlin, Mariinsky Theatre, Philharmonie de Paris, Auditorium de Lyon, Bratislava Symphony Hall and Maison symphonique de Montréal.
Watch an extract from a recent performance here.
Thierry Escaich & Quatuor Ellipsos
Thierry Escaich together with Quatuor Ellipsos perform a refreshing programme of works for organ and saxophone quartet, including arrangements of works by Bach, Schumann and Piazzolla and Escaich.
J.S. Bach: Organ Concerto in C major, BWV.595
- organ and saxophone quartet (arr Escaich/Herrouët)
J.S. Bach: Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV.659
- saxophone quartet (arr Herrouët)
Thierry Escaich: Improvisation for Solo Organ
R. Schumann: Six Fugues on B-A-C-H, Op. 60: Fugue N°5
- saxophone quartet (arr Herrouët)
Thierry Escaich: Improvisation for Solo Organ
J.S. Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor, BWV.1060R
- organ and saxophone quartet (arr Escaich/Herrouët)
Interval
J.S. Bach/Vivaldi: Organ Concerto in A minor, BWV.593
- organ and saxophone quartet (arr Herrouët)
Thierry Escaich: Trois poèmes pour orgue: "Eaux Natales", "le Masque" et "Vers l'espérance"
- organ and saxophone quartet (arr Escaich/Herrouët)
Piazzolla: Oblivion: Fuga Y Misterio
- organ and saxophone quartet (arr Escaich/Herrouët)
Thierry Escaich: Improvisation for Solo Organ
Piazzolla: Fugata
- organ and saxophone quartet (arr Escaich/Herrouët)
Watch: Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor, arranged for organ and saxophone quartet
GuardianThere are vast torrents of notes – yet such is their energy and buoyancy that the listener is carried irresistibly in the flow. To counterbalance this apparently unstoppable force, Escaich concerns himself with structure and, in characteristically French fashion, also explores the colour and timbres of sound, with sometimes cataclysmic peaks.
GramophoneHis concerto exploits the full sonic and colour ranges of the orchestra and organ in this thrilling three-movement work, the second rising to an awe-inspiring climax only topped by the shattering coda of the finale.
L’ExpressIn these works one can recognise the essential qualities of Escaich’s music; the originality of his harmonies, the richness of his orchestration and an unerring understanding of form. If Thierry Escaich has become the pre-eminent composer of his generation, it is through the value of his poetic ideas and the glorious atmosphere he creates, penetrated with lyrical impulses.