French-Canadian pianist Louis Lortie achieved international recognition by his mid-twenties. His strong, yet 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 twentieth century. Through a particularly fruitful association with his record company, he has been able to preserve on disc many of his most impressive interpretations and toRead more enjoy a wide audience for his artistry.
After studying with Yvonne Hubert, Lortie made his first professional public appearance as soloist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He was then 13 years old and, wisely, elected not to pursue a concert career immediately. After winning first prize in Canada's two premiere competitions, the Canadian National Music Competition and the CBC National Competition when he was 16, he 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, Lortie moved to Baltimore in order to work with Leon Fleisher and to expand his knowledge of the piano literature.
In 1984, Lortie was first prizewinner of the Busoni International Competition and a prizewinner as well at the Leeds Piano Competition. Along the way, he had traveled to Europe, living for a time in Paris, Florence, and Vienna. Following his exposure to European culture and the recognition resulting from his successes in competition, Lortie began to undertake a more extensive number of concert engagements and made his first recording in 1986.
Within the first few years of an active career, Lortie performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. His engagement calendar included dates with such orchestras as the Cleveland Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Saint 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. Recital tours in Italy became yearly occurrences and, under the auspices of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Lortie was well-received throughout an extensive tour of Australia.
Over the course of a number of summers, Lortie performed with the Montreal Symphony in program series devoted to a single composer. Complete cycles of the 32 Beethoven sonatas have been given in London, Toronto, Berlin, and Milan. Acknowledging one of his London appearances, the Daily Telegraph described Lortie as "one of perhaps half a dozen pianists who is worth dropping everything to go and hear."
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 afforded the opportunity 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. His recordings of Chopin's Preludes and Etudes are also of particular interest.
Having found exposure to a variety of performing traditions of great value, Lortie has taught at the piano institute at Imola, Italy, when his schedule has allowed. That school's philosophy is congenial to him and he has been pleased to work with advanced students similarly interested in a concert career.
In 1992, Lortie was honored by being made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Read less
Label: Berlin Classics
Catalog: 300341
Release Date: 07/10/2012
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Felix Mendelssohn
Performer:
Staatskapelle Berlin,
Günther Herbig,
Kurt Masur,
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
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Conductor:
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Kurt Masur,
Gothart Stier,
Helmut Koch
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Label: Brilliant Classics
Catalog: 94215
Release Date: 05/31/2011
Number of Discs: 30
Composer:
Franz Liszt
Performer:
Hans Jürgen Kaiser,
Klára Takács,
Veronika Kincses,
György Korondi
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Conductor:
János Ferencsik,
Hartmut Haenchen,
Arpád Joó,
Michel Plasson
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Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hungarian State Orchestra,
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra,
Netherlands Philharmonic Chorus
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Label: Brilliant Classics
Catalog: 93700
Release Date: 06/10/2008
Number of Discs: 3
Composer:
Franz Liszt
Performer:
Louis Lortie,
Nelson Freire,
Stephen Mayer
Conductor:
George Pehlivanian,
Michel Plasson,
Tamás Vásáry
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hague Residentie Orchestra,
Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra,
London Symphony Orchestra
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Label: Chandos
Catalog: 2418
Release Date: 02/22/2005
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Sir William Walton,
Giuseppe Verdi,
Maurice Ravel,
Sergei Rachmaninov
...
Performer:
Louis Lortie,
Emma Kirkby,
Philip Kenyon,
Yvonne Kenny
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Conductor:
Richard Hickox,
Neeme Järvi,
Andrew Parrott,
George Guest
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Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra,
London Symphony Orchestra,
London Symphony Chorus
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Label: Chandos
Catalog: 24114
Release Date: 01/20/2004
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Sir William Walton,
Alexander Glazunov,
Sergei Rachmaninov,
Ludwig van Beethoven
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Performer:
Earl Wild,
Israela Margalit,
Craig Ogden,
Luba Edlina
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Conductor:
Richard Hickox,
Neeme Järvi,
Jascha Horenstein,
Sachio Fujioka
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Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra,
Royal Scottish National Orchestra,
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
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Label: Chandos
Catalog: 24113
Release Date: 10/21/2003
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Thomas Augustine Arne,
Unico Graf Van Wassenaer,
Federico Moreno-Torroba,
Stanley Myers
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Performer:
Norbert Kraft,
Craig Ogden,
Míceál O'Rourke,
Howard Shelley
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Conductor:
Adrian Shepherd,
Yuli Turovsky,
Yan Pascal Tortelier,
Matthias Bamert
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Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cantilena,
I Musici de Montreal,
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
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Label: Nonesuch
Catalog: 79657
Release Date: 01/28/2003
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Ladislav Kupkovic,
Edward Bor,
Vato Kakhidze,
Adrien François Servais
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Performer:
Gidon Kremer,
Vato Kakhidze,
Lasma Muceniece,
Marta Sudraba
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