Louis Lortie
Pianist Louis Lortie achieved international recognition by his mid-twenties. His strong, sensitively crafted playing has served him well in a repertory of considerable breadth, with a concentration on composers from the late Classical period to the early 20th century.
Lortie was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on April 27, 1959. After studying with Yvonne Hubert, he made his first professional public appearance as a soloist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra when he was 13 years old. Wisely, he elected not to pursue a concert career immediately. After winning first prize in Canada's two premier competitions, the Canadian National Music Competition and the CBC National Competition, when he was 16, Lortie made what he considers his official debut with the Toronto Symphony in 1978 and joined the orchestra in a subsequent tour of Japan and the People's Republic of China. While in his early twenties, he moved to Baltimore to work with Leon Fleisher and expand his knowledge of piano literature.
In 1984, Lortie won first prize in the Busoni International Competition and was also a prizewinner at the Leeds Piano Competition. Following his exposure to European culture and the recognition resulting from his successes in competition, Lortie undertook a more extensive number of concert engagements and released his first recording in 1986. Within the first few years of an active career, Lortie performed throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. His engagements included dates with the Cleveland Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester, and the Orchestre National de France. With the latter ensemble, he performed on tour. Lortie has performed for several summers with the Montréal Symphony in a program series devoted to a single composer. Complete cycles of the 32 Beethoven piano sonatas have been given throughout the world.
Few pianists have enjoyed such a long-term and mutually satisfying relationship with a recording company as that existing between Lortie and Chandos. Lortie has been allowed to preserve his interpretations of composers extending from Mozart to Ligeti. Among them is his collection of the complete piano works of Ravel, a set that has received several awards, the complete Beethoven piano sonatas, and the complete works for piano and orchestra by Liszt. His recordings of Chopin's Preludes and Etudes are also of particular interest. In 2020, Lortie released the second volume in his survey of Saint-Saëns works for piano and orchestra, with Edward Gardner and the BBC Philharmonic.
Lortie has taught at the piano institute at Imola, Italy, when his schedule has allowed, he is the co-founder and artistic director of the LacMus International Festival in Tremezzina, Italy, and he is a master in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels. Lortie was honored by being made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec.
© Erik Eriksson /TiVo
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Saint-Saëns: Cello Concertos, Le Carnaval des Animaux, Africa & Wedding Cake
Neeme Järvi, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Truls Mørk, Louis Lortie, Hélène Mercier
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Jan 1, 2016
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Poulenc: Concertos for Piano
Edward Gardner, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Hélène Mercier, Louis Lortie
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24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: The Complete Années de Pèlerinage
Classical - Released by Chandos on Feb 28, 2011
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
d'Indy: Symphonie sur un Chant Montagnard Français, Saugefleurie, Médée & Prelude to Fervaal
Rumon Gamba, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Louis Lortie
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Apr 1, 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Piano Duets
Classical - Released by Chandos on Sep 9, 2022
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Finzi: Cello Concerto, Eclogue, etc.
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Concertos - Released by Chandos on Sep 1, 2018
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Ravel: Complete Works for Solo Piano
Classical - Released by Chandos on Jan 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Fauré Recital, Vol. 1
Classical - Released by Chandos on Aug 1, 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 2 & 4
Louis Lortie, Edward Gardner, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Chandos on Sep 1, 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: "Serenade to Music"
Peter Oundjian, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Louis Lortie, Sarah Jeffrey, Teng Li, Elmer Iseler Singers
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by Chandos on Jun 1, 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Piano Duets
Classical - Released by Chandos on Oct 30, 2015
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Liszt: Works for Piano and Orchestra
Louis Lortie, George Pehlivanian, Residentie Orchestra The Hague
Classical - Released by Chandos on May 1, 2006
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Szymanowski: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 - Concert Overture
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Louis Lortie, Edward Gardner
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on Jan 1, 2013
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Louis Lortie Plays Chopin, Vol. 7
Classical - Released by Chandos on Jul 1, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
"In paradisum", A Fauré Recital, Vol. 2
Classical - Released by Chandos on Apr 1, 2020
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Ravel: Piano Music For 4 Hands
Classical - Released by Chandos on Oct 1, 1990
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Gershwin: An American In Paris; Rhapsody in Blue
Louis Lortie, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Charles Dutoit
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on May 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Œuvres orchestrales (Volume 5)
Louis Lortie, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Rumon Gamba
Concertos - Released by Chandos on Apr 1, 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Franck: Symphony in D Minor, Symphonic Variations & Les Eolides
Yan Pascal Tortelier, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Louis Lortie
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Jan 1, 2001
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major, Piano Concerto for the Left Hand - Faure: Ballade
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, London Symphony Orchestra, Louis Lortie
Concertos - Released by Chandos on Sep 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo