Widor Symphony 8
Widor's most complex work in the sound aesthetic of a Cavaillé-Coll organ with one of the most important organists of the present day: a resounding commitment to the French tradition.
Jean-Baptiste Dupont is one of the most important organists of the present day. His artistic skills are reflected in his international competition successes and his worldwide concert career.
Trained in the French organ tradition in both interpretation and improvisation, his new recording of Widor's 8th Organ Symphony combines this tradition with the sound aesthetic of a Cavaillé-Coll organ: the instrument in Saint-Sernin (Toulouse) is made for Widor's most complex work, who confessed that he would not have written organ music without the listening experience of the Cavaillé-Coll instruments.
Jean-Baptiste Dupont is firmly rooted in the heritage of the French musical tradition. His extensive expertise as an improviser leads to a special state of consciousness in dealing with music: when interpreting repertoire works, he grasps the creative structures of the work particularly carefully in analysis; at the moment of performance, he authentically relives them like an improviser - the composer's creative process becomes his own as he plays.
Listen to one of the most famous French organ works on a French organ, played by a French organist - a resounding commitment to the French tradition and available here!
Jean-Baptiste Dupont
Charles-Marie Widor | Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz | Camille Saint-Saëns
Jean-Baptiste Dupont has a successful international career and has already performed throughout Europe, in the USA and in Russia. His repertoire includes works from the Renaissance to the present, including many from the 19th and 20th centuries. In the tradition of César Franck, Jean-Baptiste Dupont is celebrated as one of the greatest young organ improvisers. He also works as a composer.
Born in 1979, he first learned piano before beginning his training on the organ at the Institute of Sacred Music in Toulouse at the age of 12. He graduated with honors from the Toulouse Conservatory. As one of the best graduates, he was awarded the Francis Vidal Prize of the city of Toulouse in 2006 and then continued his studies at the Conservatory of Music and Dance in Toulouse. His organ, improvisation, harpsichord and piano teachers included Michel Bouvard, Louis Robilliard, Philippe Lefebvre, Jan Willem Jansen and Thérèse Dussaut.
Jean-Baptiste Dupont was a finalist in several organ competitions for both interpretation and improvisation. He won the 3rd prize at the International "Xavier Drasse" Competition (Toulouse) in 2008, the 2nd prize and the audience prize at the "Mikael Tariverdiev" Competition (Kaliningrad) in 2009 and the 1st prize for his organ improvisation at the International St. Albans Competition in 2009.
Together with the Hortus Editions label, Dupont is working on a complete recording of Max Reger's organ works.
In 2012, he was appointed organist of Bordeaux Cathedral after a selection process. Since 2014, he has been artistic director of "Cathedra" (sacred music in Bordeaux Cathedral) and is committed to the reconstruction of the cathedral organ.
