Press Release
August 31, 2020
updated: September 15, 2020
For Immediate Release
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Press Contact:
Gail Wein - (646) 484-9691
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On October 8th, Organist Christopher Houlihan celebrates the music and life of Louis Vierne on the French composer's 150th birthday
Highlight of the "Vierne at 150" festival is Houlihan's performance from Trinity College in Hartford
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“A stellar reading of the fiendishly difficult Symphony No.4 of Louis Vierne…. Houlihan could not have done a better job of demonstrating the sounds of the instrument.”
— The American Organist
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Though he was a prolific composer and a virtuoso organist the compelling and tragic life story of Louis Vierne (1870-1937) has scarcely been told. The life of this organist of Notre-Dame Cathedral was appallingly difficult. He was born nearly blind. His wife left him for his best friend. His son and brother were killed in WWI. His performance career was nearly destroyed by a broken leg. He was addicted to tranquilizers and cigarettes.
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Christopher Houlihan plays the "Final" from Louis Vierne's Symphony No. 6 |
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And most dramatically of all, he died at the organ during a performance to a packed house at Notre-Dame. Despite his miserable circumstances, Vierne composed a vast body of brilliant music in nearly every genre, though he is most revered for his organ works.
On October 8, 2020, Christopher Houlihan performs music by Vierne at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. The concert, web-streamed to a global audience from Christopher Houlihan's website, is the pinnacle of the free “Vierne at 150" festival, presented online October 5-8, 2020 in celebration of Louis Vierne’s 150th birthday.
"Louis Vierne’s organ music reflects the human condition, perhaps because his own life was full of surprising successes and disappointments," shares Mr. Houlihan. "Throughout the symphonies, soaring romantic melodies are juxtaposed with piercing chromaticism. There’s sillyness one moment, followed by languorous angst the next. To me, he makes the organ—perhaps the most inhuman of instruments—come to life."
Over the course of the four-day online festival, Houlihan presents interviews with Notre-Dame organist Olivier Latry; noted scholar and organist Rollin Smith; and Phillip Truckenbrod about his 50 year career as artist manager. He will also give a pre-concert lecture and demonstration with live Q&A and share archival concert recordings.
‘Vierne at 150’ is presented by Trinity College Chapel Music and the Department of Music. It is also an offering of Trinity College’s Academy of Lifelong Learning, a series of non-credit-bearing short courses on diverse and stimulating topics.
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VIERNE AT 150 FESTIVAL
Webcast Schedule
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Premiering on October 5 at 7:00 p.m. EDT
Interview with Phillip Truckenbrod, about his half-century long career as manager of organists and author of the recently published memoir, “Organists and Me”
Premiering on October 6 at 7:00 p.m. EDT
Live on October 7 at 7:00 p.m. EDT
Live pre-concert lecture, demonstration and Q&A with Houlihan from Trinity College
Premiering on October 8 at 7:00 p.m. EDT
Christopher Houlihan performs works by Louis Vierne at Trinity College in Hartford, Ct.
Program:
from 24 Pièces de fantaisie, op. 51, 53–55
Carillon de Westminster
Naïades
Clair de lune
Toccata
Symphony No. 4 for Organ, op 32
Additional material
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Interview with Rollin Smith, author of “Louis Vierne: Organist of Notre-Dame Cathedral,” and the first American organist to perform all six of Vierne’s symphonies.
- Periodic release of live concert recordings from Houlihan's Vierne2012 tour
- Resource kiosk with links to feature articles, biographic material, video clips and photos
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Organist Christopher Houlihan |
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Critics have applauded Christopher Houlihan for his "world class chops" and "marvelous ear"; The Los Angeles Times proclaimed him dazzling and seductive. Houlihan's Disney Hall debut, performing with principal brass of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, resulted in The LA Times raving, "Houlihan is the next big organ talent." Recent concert highlights include debuts at the Kennedy Center and Kimmel Center, and concertos with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Columbus (GA) Symphony, and Chamber Orchestra of Boston. In 2017 Houlihan was appointed the John Rose College Organist-and-Directorship Distinguished Chair of Chapel Music at Trinity College in Hartford, his alma mater. Complete bio, photos, videos and more are at ChristopherHoulihan.com
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