Louis Langrée

French conductor Louis Langrée

Louis Langrée (born 11 January 1961 in Mulhouse) is a French conductor. He is the son of organist and theorist Alain Langrée. One of his sisters is an amateur cellist.[1]

Langrée 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.[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 2017.[5] He first guest-conducted the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in March 2011. Based on that appearance, in April 2012, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra appointed Langrée its 13th music director, as of the 2013-2014 season, with an initial contract of 4 years. He assumed the title of music director designate with immediate effect.[6][7] In March 2015, the Cincinnati Symphony announced the extension of Langrée's contract as music director through the 2019-2020 season.[8]

Langrée has made several recordings for Virgin Classics, with the Orchestra of the Opera National de Lyon,[9] 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 Clark Langrée, a writer for French television, have two children. The family resides in Cincinnati.[8] In 2006, Langrée was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 James R. Oestreich (1 August 2003). "A New Spin (And Hand) For 'Mozart'". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  2. ↑ "Louis Langrée neuer Chefdirigent der Camerata Salzburg" (Press release). Camerata Salzburg. 11 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
  3. ↑ Robin Pogrebin (11 December 2002). "Mostly Mozart Appoints Music Director". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  4. ↑ Ben Mattison (17 March 2005). "Mostly Mozart Announces 2005 Season Plans, Extends Contract of Music Director Louis Langrée". Playbill Arts. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  5. ↑ Kozinn, Allan (July 29, 2014). "Langrée Signs On for More Mostly Mozart".
  6. ↑ "Louis Langrée Named Next CSO Music Director" (Press release). Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-28.
  7. ↑ Janelle Gelfand (2012-04-24). "French conductor named CSO music director". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Janelle Gelfand (2015-03-06). "CSO extends Louis Langrée's contract until 2020". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  9. ↑ James R. Oestreich (7 February 2003). "Fiery Romantic, Burning Alone: The Ever-Original Berlioz". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-30.

External links

Cultural offices
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