Denis Comtet (born 30 April 1970) is a French

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

choral conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

, and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Biography

Training

Born in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, Denis Comtet studied organ with

Gaston Litaize Gaston Gilbert Litaize (11 August 1909 – 5 August 1991) was a French organist and composer. Considered one of the 20th century masters of the French organ, he toured, recorded, worked at churches, and taught students in and around Paris. Blind ...

at the

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés Saint-Maur-des-Fossés () is a Communes of France, commune in Val-de-Marne, the southeastern suburbs of Paris, suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. History Abbey Saint-Maur-des-Fossés owes its name to Saint-Maur A ...

conservatory. He then studied at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

where he later obtained two first prizes: in organ (in

Michel Chapuis Chapuis is a French-language surname of the Arpitan region of eastern France and Francophone Switzerland with various spellings. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernard Chapuis (born 1945), French writer * Charles Bertin Gaston Chapuis d ...

' class) and piano accompaniment (in Jean Koerner's class, where he discovered the contemporary repertoire). He then trained as conductor in Italy with .

Career

Organist

As an organist, he has performed in concert on the principal instruments of our time: Notre-Dame in Paris, the auditorium Maurice Ravel de Lyon, the

Chartres Cathedral Chartres Cathedral (, lit. Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres) is a Catholic cathedral in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the List of bishops of Chartres, Bishop of Chartres. Dedicated in honour of the Virgin Mary ( ...

, Saint-Eustache, the auditorium de Radio France (new instrument by ), the Saint-Paul Church of London, the

St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan) St. Patrick's Cathedral is a Catholic Church, Catholic cathedral in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Archbishop of New York as well as a parish church. The cat ...

of New-York. He is regularly invited to play with the musical bands of

Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist media, generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed wi ...

Maîtrise de Radio France Maîtrise de Radio France (; known as Maîtrise de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française prior to 1975) is the choir school of Radio France. The school and its choir were founded in 1946 by the composer Henry Barraud and the pedagogue Maurice ...

, Choir and Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, and

Orchestre national de France The Orchestre National de France (; ; abbr. ONF) is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since 1975), the ONF performs mainly in the Grand ...

. He played the '' Symphonie n° 3'' by Saint-Saëns at the

salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by the acoustician Gustave Lyon together with the architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed i ...

in Paris, the

Konzerthaus, Vienna The Konzerthaus is a concert hall located in Vienna, Austria, which opened in 1913. It is situated in the third district just at the edge of the first district in Vienna. Since it was founded it has always tried to emphasise both traditional and ...

, the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

of London, the

Suntory Hall The is a concert venue in the central Akasaka district of Tokyo, Japan. Part of the Ark Hills complex, it consists of a main concert hall, widely considered one of the finest in the world for its acoustics – Herbert von Karajan called it “ ...

of Tokyo, the

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

of New-York. He is titular of the grand organ of

Saint-François-Xavier, Paris St Francis Xavier Church ( or ) is a parish Roman Catholic church in the 7th arrondissement of Paris dedicated to Francis Xavier, the patron saint of missions. Built in the late 19th century, It gave its name to the nearby Metro station Saint-Fra ...

Choral conductor

He became associate chief of the

Accentus (choir) Accentus is a French chamber choir founded by Laurence Equilbey in 1991. The ensemble has been in residence at the Opéra de Rouen since 1998.Le Spectacle du monde -2004 Issues 504-507 "Figure de proue des musiciens français, Laurence Equilbey a ...

between 2003 and 2007, which he directed at the

Cité de la musique The Cité de la Musique (, "City of Music"), also known as Philharmonie 2, is a group of institutions dedicated to music and situated in the Parc de la Villette, 19th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was designed with the nearby Conservatoi ...

, the

Besançon International Music Festival The Besançon International Music Festival () is one of the oldest festivals of classical music that takes place in the city of Besançon, northeastern France, over two weeks from around the middle of September. It was created in 1948. It is partic ...

, as well as the

Ircam IRCAM (French: ''Ircam, '', English: Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) is a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, especially in the fields of Avant-garde music, avant garde and Electroacoustic ...

. He also founded, under the impulse of

Emmanuelle Haïm Emmanuelle Haïm (; born 11 May 1962) is a French harpsichordist and conductor with a particular interest in early music and Baroque music. Early life, student and assistant years Haïm was born and grew up in Paris, and was raised Catholic alt ...

, the choir of

Le Concert d'Astrée Le Concert d'Astrée is an instrumental and vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of Baroque music. It was founded In 2000 by Emmanuelle Haïm, and has been in residence at the Opéra de Lille since 2004 and has established an international re ...

. He was subsequently invited by the

Chœur de chambre de Namur The Choeur de Chambre de Namur (founded 1987) is a choir based in Namur, which is sponsored by the Communauté française de Belgique. Since 2010 the artistic director has been Leonardo García Alarcón and conductor of the instrumental ensemble i ...

, the State choir of Latvia, the , the Stuttgart Radio Choir ( SWR Vocal Ensemble) during the

Donaueschingen Festival The Donaueschingen Festival, or more precisely ''Donaueschingen Music Days'' (), is a three-day October event presenting new music in the town of the same name, where the Danube River starts, at the edge of the Black Forest in southern Germany. F ...

, and the

Schwetzingen Festival The Schwetzingen Festival (German: Schwetzinger Festspiele, now Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele) is an early summer festival of opera and other classical music presented each year from May to early June in Schwetzingen, Germany. In 1952, the broadca ...

, the Cologne Radio Choir (

Westdeutscher Rundfunk (; "West German Broadcasting Cologne"), shortened to WDR (), is a German public broadcasting, public-broadcasting institution based in the States of Germany, Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a const ...

), the Leipzig Radio Choir (

Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (; "Central German Broadcasting"), shortened to MDR (; stylized as mdr), is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. Established in January 1991, its headquarters are in Leipzig, wi ...

), as well as the

Berlin Radio Choir The Rundfunkchor Berlin (Berlin Radio Choir) is a professional German classical choir founded in 1925. In the 1950s the choir was divided into the Berliner Solistenvereinigung and the Großer Chor des Berliner Rundfunks. These were united as Run ...

. In 2013 he began a collaboration with the

RIAS Kammerchor The RIAS Kammerchor (RIAS Chamber Choir) is a German choir based in Berlin, Germany. It receives support from the Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH Berlin ("Berlin Radio Orchestra and Choirs"), a limited-liability company owned by the public br ...

which he prepared for productions with orchestra (

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

) or else for

premieres A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...

(''Disputatio'' by

Pascal Dusapin Pascal Georges Dusapin (born 29 May 1955) is a French composer. His music is marked by its microtonality, tension, and energy. A pupil of Iannis Xenakis and Franco Donatoni and an admirer of Varèse, Dusapin studied at the University of Pari ...

in 2015).

Conductor

In 2002, he was appointed assistant conductor of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, where he collaborated with

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

Péter Eötvös Péter Eötvös (, ; 2 January 194424 March 2024) was a Hungarian composer, conductor and academic teacher. After studies of composition in Budapest and Cologne, Eötvös composed film music in Hungary from 1962. He played with the Stockhaus ...

Jonathan Nott Jonathan Nott (born 25 December 1962, in Solihull, England) is an English conductor. Biography The son of a priest at Worcester Cathedral, Nott was a music student and choral scholar at St John's College, Cambridge, and also studied singing an ...

Heinz Holliger Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss composer, virtuoso oboist, and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Clas ...

. He subsequently directed the Rouen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre national de Lille, the

Dartington International Summer School Dartington International Summer School was a British summer school and festival of music held on the medieval estate of Dartington Hall, Devon, England, and the first summer school of music in the United Kingdom. It was a department of the Dart ...

orchestra,

, the Dijon-Bourgogne orchestra, the Latvian National Orchestra, the

Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra The Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra (also known in English as the SWR Baden-Baden Freiburg Symphony Orchestra and in German as the Sinfonieorchester des Südwestrundfunks) was a German radio orchestra located in the German cities of Ba ...

, the Philharmoniker-Staatsorchestrer of the

Staatskapelle Halle The Staatskapelle Halle is a German symphony orchestra based in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Part of the umbrella organisation ''Theater, Oper und Orchester GmbH Halle'', the orchestra performs symphonic concerts, and also serves as the orchestra ...

during the

Göttingen International Handel Festival The Göttingen International Handel Festival (German, ''Internationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen'') is a German festival of baroque music, based in Göttingen, Germany. The festival was established in 1919 by Oskar Hagen, art historian and f ...

. At the theatre he directed the '' Great Mass in C minor, K. 427'' by Mozart ( Théâtre des Champs-Elysées of Paris), the ''Lamentations'' by

Helmut Lachenmann Helmut Friedrich Lachenmann (; born 27 November 1935) is a German composer of contemporary classical music and pianist. Associated with the "instrumental musique concrète" style, Lachenmann is alongside Wolfgang Rihm as among the leading Germa ...

(

Cité de la Musique The Cité de la Musique (, "City of Music"), also known as Philharmonie 2, is a group of institutions dedicated to music and situated in the Parc de la Villette, 19th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was designed with the nearby Conservatoi ...

of Paris), ''

Der Mond ' (''The Moon'') is an opera in one act by Carl Orff based on a Grimm's fairy tale with a libretto by the composer. It was first performed on 5 February 1939 by the Bavarian State Opera in Munich under the direction of Clemens Krauss. The composer ...

'' by Carl Orff (Amphitheatrer of the

Opéra Bastille The Opéra Bastille (, "Bastille Opera House") is a modern opera house in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France. Inaugurated in 1989 as part of President François Mitterrand's '' Grands Travaux'', it became the main facility of the Paris N ...

), ''

The Cunning Little Vixen ''The Cunning Little Vixen'' (original title ''Příhody lišky Bystroušky'' or ''Tales of Vixen Sharp-Ears'' in English), is a three-act Czech-language opera by Leoš Janáček completed in 1923 to a libretto the composer himself adapted from a ...

'' by Leoš Janáček (Lille Opéra), ''

Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и волк, Pétya i volk, p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk) Op. 67, a "symphonic tale for children", is a Program music , programmatic musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a ...

'' by Serge Prokofiev (Rouen Opéra, Besançon), the ''Nouvelles Aventures'' by

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

(

Capitole de Toulouse The Capitole de Toulouse (; ), commonly known as the ''Capitole'', is the heart of the municipal administration and the city hall of the France, French city of Toulouse. It was designated a ''monument historique'' by the French government in 1840 ...

Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation) ...

), ''l'Opéra de Lune'' by Brice Pauset (Opéra de Dijon). He has also been the director of the Ars Terra International Chamber Music FestivalArs Terra International Chamber Music Festival
/ref> since 2011.

Recordings

* André Fleury: ''Fantaisie, Triptyque, Prélude, Andante et Toccata, Carillon sur

Victimae paschali laudes "Victimae paschali laudes" is a sequence prescribed for the Catholic Mass, Anglican and Lutheran Eucharistic services on Easter Sunday. It is usually attributed to the 11th-century Wipo of Burgundy, chaplain to Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II, but h ...

, Symphonie pour Orgue n°2'' (Eglise Saint-François Xavier de Paris in 1999) *

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

: ''Litanies à la Vierge noire'' with the

, direction

Laurence Equilbey Laurence Equilbey (born 6 March 1962) is a French conductor, known for her work in the choral repertoire, and more recently as the founder and music director of the Insula Orchestra. She also founded the chamber choir Accentus in 1991, and has ...

(Prix Nouvelle Académie du disque 1998) - Universal Music ASI B000026A2J *

Jehan Alain Jehan-Ariste Paul Alain (; 3 February 1911 – 20 June 1940) was a French organist, composer, and soldier. Born into a family of musicians, he learned the organ from his father and a host of other teachers, becoming a composer at 18, and compos ...

: ''Prière pour nous autres charnels'' with the (Prize of the

Académie Charles-Cros An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

) - Corélia CC895766 *

: ''Triptyque pour Deux Orgues'' (Eglise Notre-Dame de Paris with

Olivier Latry Olivier Jean-Claude Latry (; 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 ...

in 2002) - ASIN B00004VF3C * ''Le Livre de Notre-Dame'': 12 motets avec la Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris

References

External links

Site officiel de l'Association des Grandes Orgues de Chartres

Denis Comtet
direction and orgue
Denis Comtet's biography

Site du festival international de musique classique Ars Terra

Denis Comtet
on

France Musique France Musique () is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on classical music and jazz. History The channel was lau ...

Denis COMTET - Final Symphonie 3 - Louis Vierne
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Comtet, Denis French classical organists French choral conductors French male conductors (music) Conservatoire de Paris alumni 1970 births Musicians from Versailles Living people 21st-century French conductors (music) 21st-century French organists 21st-century French male musicians French male classical organists