André Isoir

André Isoir (born in Saint-Dizier, France on 20 July 1935) is a French organist.

Isoir studied at the École César-Franck where his principal teachers were Édouard Souberbielle (organ) and Germaine Mounier (piano) and at the Paris Conservatoire under Rolande Falcinelli where he won his first prizes in organ and improvisation in 1960.

Thereafter he won several international organ competitions: in 1965 in St Albans (UK), and three successive years in Haarlem (Netherlands), earning the "Challenge Award". He is the only French interpreter to have achieved this distinction since the inception of the competition in 1951.

Isoir was organist titulaire at St-Médard in Paris from 1952 to 1967, St. Severin in 1967, and since 1973 has been titulaire at Saint-Germain-des-Pres.

In 1974 Isoir was appointed to the organ staff at the Conservatoire d'Orsay, in 1977 promoted to the rank of National School of Music. He became a full professor in January 1978 and remained at Orsay until 1983, when he was appointed to the Conservatoire National de Region de Boulogne-Billancourt, where he taught organ until 1994.

Isoir recorded sixty discs, which won the Grand Prix du Disque in 1972, 73, 74, 75, 77, 80, 89 and 91 as well as the «Président de la République» prize for "Le Livre d'Or de l’Orgue Français". In February 1974 he was awarded membership of the Friends of the Organ for his "Variations sur un psaume huguenot". He has recorded the complete organ works of J. S. Bach, which remains a reference. His recordings of works by César Franck on the organ of the Cathedral of Luzon were also commended.

André Isoir completes his musical culture by a thorough knowledge of the instrument; it contributes, in his view, a better approach to different musical styles both in terms of technology and in the registration.

Isoir has been awarded the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres, National Order of Merit, best instrumental soloist of the year to 2nd Victoires de la Musique, and also «Choc de l’année 2000» from the magazine Le Monde de la Musique for his interpretation of the Art of Fugue by J.S. Bach.

Source

• Entry to André Isoir in the French Wikipedia, translated December 25, 2008, using Google Translate.

This composer article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article on an organist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.