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Sunday, December 9, 2018, 3:15 PM - 3:45 PM
Thierry Mechler (b. 1962)
“Venez, divin Messie”, an Improvised Symphony on Advent Themes
1. Introduction
2. Allegro vivace
3. Andante
4. Intermezzo
5. Scherzo
6. Adagio
7. Final
Thierry Mechler was born in 1962 in the Alsace region of France. He started piano and organ lessons in his hometown of Mulhouse, and he continued piano studies with Helene Boschi and his organ studies with Daniel Roth at the Conservatoire National de Région de Strasbourg.
In 1981, he won first prize with highest marks at the “Concours International de Paris”. In 1984, he became a student of Marie-Claire Alain in Rueil-Malmaison, where he won a gold medal and a Premier Prix d’Excellence with special marks from the jury.
In 1986, he won a prize in improvisation and a Premier Prix de Virtuosité in the classes of Jacques Taddei (improvisation) and Marie-Claire Alain (organ). In 1991, he won the medal of honor at the composition competition in Mulhouse. That same year, he was accepted in the S.A.C.E.M. (Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music) as composer, and he received the Europäischen Förderpreis in Dresden, Germany, as an award for his international career and his many recordings.
He is a regular performer at numerous European organ festivals. As a renowned teacher and juror, he is invited regularly to Germany, England, Finland, Island, Ireland, the United States, Korea, China and France to teach masterclasses. He has made many recordings as both organist and pianist.
He was the titular organist at the Cathedral Primatial Saint-Jean in Lyon, France, from 1991 until 1999. He was also curator and organist of the organ of the Auditorium Maurice Ravel in Lyon, an instrument originally built by Cavaillé-Coll for the Trocadéro Palace. In 1995, he performed the complete organ works of J. S. Bach in an acclaimed series of twelve recitals. In 1998, he performed all six organ symphonies of Louis Vierne. He was also appointed Professor for Organ and Improvisation at the Musikhochschule in Cologne, Germany. Since 2002, he has been organist and a curator of the prestigious Philharmonie of Cologne.
Thierry Mechler's career has taken him worldwide, both as organist and pianist. He has built a reputation as an exciting performer and improviser. Celebrated also as a composer, his 6 Métamorphoses on B.A.C.H, Opus 14 was performed at the Philharmonie of Cologne in 2009. In 2018, his Triptychon-Organum, Opus 15 was published by Butzverlag Bonn. In 2012, he performed all 48 preludes and fugues from Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier at the Bach-Festival in Schauenberg. In 2016, he participated in the 30th anniversary of the Cologne Philharmonic Orchestra, which featured the world premiere of Vito Zuraj’s I-FORMATION for two orchestras and organ solo, with the Gürzenich orchestra and the Symphonic WDR orchestra.
Thierry Mechler is a knight of the French National Order of Arts and Letters.
www.thierrymechler.com
(Photograph by Joern Neumann)