Louis Langrée (born 11 January 1961, Mulhouse) is a French conductor. He is the son of organist and theorist Alain Langrée. One of his sisters is an amateur cellist.[1]
He studied at the Strasbourg Conservatory, but had no formal academic training in conducting.[1] He began his career as a vocal coach and assistant at the Opéra National de Lyon, from 1983 to 1986. During this time, he stopped work for a year because of lymphoma.[1] He then worked as an assistant conductor at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and held a comparable post with the Bayreuth Festival. From 1989 to 1992, he was an assistant conductor with l’Orchestre de Paris.
In Europe and the UK, Langrée has been music director of the Orchestre de Picardie (1993–1998), the Opéra National de Lyon (1998–2000), Glyndebourne Touring Opera (1998–2003), and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège (2001–2006). His first conducting appearance at the Vienna State Opera was in September 2010, in a revival of Puccini's La bohème. In June 2011, Langrée was named principal conductor of the Camerata Salzburg, effective September 2011, with an initial contract of 5 seasons.[2]
Langrée made his first US conducting appearance in 1991 at the Spoleto Festival USA. In December 2002, he was named music director of the Mostly Mozart Festival (Lincoln Center, New York City),[3] and formally took up the post in the summer of 2003. In March 2005, his initial contract with Mostly Mozart was extended to 2008.[4] His current contract with Mostly Mozart is through 2014.[2]
Langrée has made several recordings for Virgin Classics, with the Orchestra of the Opera National de Lyon,[5] the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Camerata Salzburg and Le Concert d'Astrée. With the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège, he has recorded for Universal/Accord symphonies of Franck and Chausson, piano concertos of Liszt, Ravel and Schulhoff (soloist, Claire-Marie Le Guay), and for the Cypress label, works for clarinet and orchestra by Mozart, Rossini and Weber (soloist, Jean-Luc Votano). Several of his recordings have received awards, including the Victoire de la musique, MIDEM, Diapason d'Or, and Gramophone awards. Langrée was a co-recipient of the Best Musical Achievement for Opera award from the Royal Philharmonic Society for his conducting of the 2001 Glyndebourne Opera production of Fidelio. In 2007, he was a winner of the Grand Prix Antoine Livio de la Presse Musicale Internationale.
Langrée and his wife Aimée Frank Langrée, a writer for French television, have two children. The family resides in Paris.[1] In 2006, Langrée was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.
| Preceded by Patrick Fournillier |
Music Director, Orchestre de Picardie 1993-1998 |
Succeeded by Edmon Colomer |
| Preceded by Kent Nagano |
Music Director, Opéra National de Lyon 1998-2000 |
Succeeded by Iván Fischer |
| Preceded by Ivor Bolton |
Music Director, Glyndebourne Touring Opera 1998-2003 |
Succeeded by Edward Gardner |
| Preceded by Pierre Bartholomée |
Music Director, Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège 2001-2006 |
Succeeded by Pascal Rophé |
| Preceded by Gerard Schwarz |
Music Director, Mostly Mozart Festival 2003-present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
| Preceded by Leonidas Kavakos |
Principal Conductor, Camerata Salzburg 2011-present |
Succeeded by incumbent |