Marie-Claire Alain

International Performer of the Year 1984

	Marie-Claire Alain

Through her concert performances, masterclasses and numerous recordings, Marie-Claire Alain has become one of the leading figures in the organ world.

Born into a family of musicians in St Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, she studied music at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Paris, where she won four Premier Prix, followed shortly after by several awards in international competitions.

She has toured extensively throughout the world, giving over 2000 concerts, either recitals or as a soloist with orchestra. The critics are unanimous in praising the luminous clarity of her playing, her pure style, the intense and lively musicality of her interpretation and her outstanding skill in the art of registration.

A very sought-after pedagogue, rightly famous for her lecture recitals, she has based her teaching on an in-depth study of musicology and continues to pursue the field of organ literature and the performance of Early, Romantic and Symphonic music. She is head of the "Cycle de Formation Professionnelle" for organists at the Conservatoire National de Region in Paris.

Marie-Claire Alain's impressive list of recordings comprises of more than 260 discs, including the famous complete works of J.S. Bach, Buxtehude, Bruhns, Böhm Couperin, Grigny, Daquin, Pachelbel, Mendelssohn, C. Franck, Jehan Alain, and the concertos of Poulenc, Handel, J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Vivaldi; which have earned her more than 15 Grands Prix du Disque. Several other CDs have also been devoted to Liszt, Widor and Vierne.

The town of Lübeck awarded Marie-Claire Alain the Buxtehude Prize, acknowledging her specialised work in early German music. In Budapest she was awarded the Franz Liszt Prize and in Copenhagen, the Leonie Sonning Foundation Music Prize where in addition she was decorated with the Danish Dannebrog Order.

A member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Music, Marie-Claire Alain is equally a Doctor Honoris Causa of Colorado State University and Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas). In France she is a Commander of the Legion d'Honneur and of the Ordre National du Mérite.

Marie-Claire Alain's recital for the International Performer of the Year Award took place at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue.

Click here to see the actual program with notes. (PDF)