25th International Festival “The Days of Organ – Dies orgranorum”: DUO MARIE-ANDRÉE JOERGER & VINCENT DUBOIS

Titular organist at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, and newly appointed Professor of organ interpretation and improvisation at the Hochschule für Musik (University of Music), Saarbrücken, Germany, Vincent Dubois is one of the finest concert organists in the world today. We have listened to his recital at the Days of Organ Festival in 2019, and this year he will perform together with accordionist Marie-Andrée Joerger, one of the most brilliant artists of her generation actively promoting her instrument, the classical accordion, throughout the world. Their program consists of the pieces by French composers and French student, Astor Piazzolla and investigate similarities and differences between the sounds of accordion and organ.

Program:
Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Petite suite (excerpt)
II Cortège
IV Ballet

Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924)
Suite Dolly, Op. 56 (excerpt)
I Berceuse
II Mi-a-ou
IV Kitty-valse
VI Le Pas Espagnol

Astor Piazzolla (1921–1992)
Adiós Nonino

Invierno porteño

Decarísimo

Francis Poulenc (1899–1963)
L’embarquement pour Cythère, FP 150

Patrice Caratini (1946)
La valse des crayons

Richard Galliano (1950)
Tango pour Claude

Astor Piazzolla
La muerte del ángel

Biographies:
Considered one of the most brilliant artists of her generation, Marie-Andrée Joerger has been touring the world for many years, actively promoting her instrument, the classical accordion, for which she has been passionate since a very young age.
She has performed at prestigious festivals such as the Zelt-Musik-Festival in Freiburg, Musique en scène in Lyon, Festival Messiaen au Pays de la Meije, The Colmar International Music Festival, the Folia Festival in Montreal, the Musica and Arsmondo in Strasbourg, ManiFeste in Paris, Les Musicales de Normandie, International accordion festival Vilnius, Wien Modern Festival, Musikfestspiele Saar, Accordionf[est] in Tallinn, Festival Piano en Valois and with various symphony orchestras of Freiburg, Nancy, Strasbourg and the Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra.
She has also performed in prestigious venues such as the Berlin Konzerthaus and Philharmonie, Zurich Tonhalle, Vienna Konzerthaus, Opéra de Lyon, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, National Theatre Bucharest, the Philharmonie de Paris under the baton of such renowned conductors as Marko Letonja, Vladimir Spivakov, Peter Rundel, David Reiland and alongside such renowned soloists as Armand Angster, Marc Coppey, Françoise Kubler, Daishin Kashimoto, Pierre Strauch.
Recorded in 2021, her first solo album “Bach en Miroir”, published by the Klarthe label and unanimously acclaimed by critics in France and abroad (“favorite album” Le Monde 2021, France Musique, Mediapart, Pizzicato, Classic News, France Inter, Rai3….), gives new impetus to classical accordion, given the originality of the program proposed, the poetry and imagination deployed in its interpretation, and the warmth of the sound colors it provides.
A chamber music enthusiast, she founded the ensemble “Les musiciens de Strasbourg” (string quintet and accordion), of which she is artistic director, performs around the world with Vincent Dubois, titular organist of the great organs of Notre Dame de Paris, is a member of the “Philharmonie de Poche”, the ‘Linea’ ensemble and regularly appears with Strasbourg’s “Accroche Note” ensemble.
Passionate about artistic creation, Marie-Andrée Joerger has been asked to premiere numerous works, including Thierry Escaich’s first solo work for accordion at the Berlin Philharmonic, Annette Schlünz’s first concerto for accordion and orchestra, and others by composers such as Bernard Cavanna, Daniel D’Adamo, Beat Furer, Martin Matalon, Misato Mochizuki and Alberto Posadas.
Graduating with the highest honors from the Musikhochschule in Freiburg, Germany (class of Teodoro Anzellotti) and Basel, Switzerland (specialized master’s degree in contemporary music), she passes on her passion to younger generations through master-classes given at Europe’s most prestigious higher music institutions, She is a founding member of the Agora international summer academy in Adelboden (Switzerland), and teaches regularly at the Strasbourg Higher Music Academy – Haute école des arts du Rhin and at the Strasbourg Conservatory, where she created the accordion class in 2014.

Titular organist at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, and newly appointed Professor of organ interpretation and improvisation at the Hochschule für Musik (University of Music), Saarbrücken, Germany, Vincent Dubois is one of the finest concert organists in the world today.
A graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris where he earned First Prizes in Organ (Olivier Latry’s organ class), Harmony, Counterpoint, Fugue and 20th-century composition; Dubois took the world’s stage in 2002 by winning two major organ competitions: the Recital Gold Medal at the Calgary International Organ Competition, and the Grand Prize at the International Competition of Toulouse, France.
In January 2016 after a comprehensive audition and competition for the available post, Mr. Dubois was appointed the newest of three titular organists of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, where he continues to serve along with the two other titular organists, Olivier Latry and Philippe Lefebvre. Prior to his appointment at Notre-Dame in Paris Mr. Dubois served as titular organist at Soissons Cathedral (2001-2014), and Saint-Brieuc Cathedral (1996-2001).
Mr. Dubois has performed in major concert venues throughout Europe, North America, Asia and the Pacific, including performances for numerous international music festivals.  He has also appeared as guest soloist with many orchestras and ensembles, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Dallas Symphony, the Hong-Kong Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique of Radio France, the Orchestre National de France, the Orquesta Filharmonica del Gran Canaria,  the Orchestre National de Lorraine, the Orchestre de Picardie, and the Orchestre de Bretagne.  In 2017 he was a featured performer at the American Guild of Organists pedagogy conference held at the University of Kansas, and in 2018 he was a featured performer at The American Guild of Organists national convention in Kansas City, MO.
Mr. Dubois is featured in solo recital on several commercial recordings, including a CD of the organ music of Franz Liszt on the Vox Coelistis label; a CD recorded at St. Sulpice in Paris on the JAV label; and a CD recorded at St. Etienne de Caen featuring the complete Symphonie No. 3 of Louis Vierne and the Op. 7 Preludes and Fugues of Marcel Dupré on Radio France’s Tempéraments label.  His performances have also been broadcast over Radio France, the O.R.F. Vienna, CBC Radio Canada, Australian Radio and American Public Media’s Pipedreams.
Prior to joining the faculty at the Hochschule für Musik in Saarbrücken, Germany, Mr. Dubois held the distinguished post of Director General of the Strasbourg National and Superior Conservatory of Music in France from 2012 until 2022, and he taught organ at the Freiburg Musikhochschule in Germany from 2018 until 2022.   Mr. Dubois has additionally taught organ master classes at such prestigious institutions in the U.S.A., as Yale University, The Eastman School of Music, The Curtis Institute of Music, Oberlin College, Baylor University, The University of St. Paul, Emory University, and the University of Michigan, where he served as Continuing Guest Artist for a two-year period from 2014 to 2016.

foto by Klara Beck