Daniel Roth

Biography

Daniel Roth has been widely acclaimed as one of the leading French organ virtuosos, and has held several prestigious positions as an artist and teacher. At age twenty he made his debut at the organ of the Basilique du Sacré Coeur in Paris, as assistant to his teacher Madame Falcinelli. He later succeeded her as Titular Organist at Sacré-Coeur, a post he held until 1985 when he was appointed Titular Organist at St. Sulpice, the famous Paris church where his predecessors were Charles-Marie Widor, Marcel Dupré and Jean-Jacques Grunenwald.

From 1974-1976 Daniel Roth held the position of Artist-in-Residence of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. Upon his return to France, he resumed his teaching position at the Conservatory of Marseille, which he held until 1979 when he was appointed to the Conservatory of Strasbourg, a post he filled for nine years. From 1988 until summer, 1995, Mr. Roth taught at the Musikhochshule in Saarbrücken. He now is Professor of Organ at the Musikhochschule in Frankfurt am Main, succeeding Edgar Krapp and Helmut Walcha.

A former student at the Paris Conservatory, his teachers have included Marie-Claire Alain and Maurice Duruflé. Daniel Roth has won several competitions, among them the Grand Prix de Chartres in 1971. He has concertized extensively in Europe, Great Britain, Scandinavia, Japan and Korea. He has made many tours of the United States and Canada since 1977. In addition to his regular tours, he has come to North America on several occasions as guest artist for various conventions: Third International Congress of Organists (Washington DC and Philadelphia), the national convention of the Royal Canadian College of Organists (Montreal) and the national convention of The American Guild of Organists held in Detroit. In 1990 he spent a week at Yale University, where he gave private lessons, presented a lecture and performed at Woolsey Hall. In 2003 Mr. Roth was named an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Organists. In July 2006 he was awarded the “Europäische Kirchenmusik” prize by the Europäische Kirchenmusik Festival in Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Germany. Other musicians who have received this prize include Krystof Penderecki, Arvo Pärt, and Petr Eben.

A composer as well as performer, Roth has had several pieces published by Leduc: Evocation de la Pentecôte, Pour la Nuit de Noël, Hommage à César Franck and Tryptique, Hommage à Pierre Cochereau. Final Te Deum and Roth's transcription of César Franck's Redemption are published by Bärenreiter-Kassel. Joie Douleur et Gloire de Marie is published by Novello. Many of these compositions have been recorded on both compact disc and video. He has also written several works for choir, including Dignare me O Jesu for soloists, choir and organ, commissioned by Philip Brunelle, the first performance of which was at the American Church in Paris in 1990 with the first US performance at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis the same year. His Missa Brevis (regularly sung at Notre-Dame Cathedral and La Madeleine in Paris) and Artizarra are available through Schott Mainz. His Aïn Karim, Fantaisie pour flüte et orgue (published by Schott), dedicated to Karel Paukert and Michel Debost, was premiered at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1995. In 1999 he was warded the Prix Florent Schmitt by the Institut de France, Académie des Beaux-Arts for his compositions. He was honored in January 1999 with a concert dedicated entirely to his compositions at the Church of the Madeleine in Paris. In 2005 he composed Licht im Dunkel a poem for orchestra, which was commissioned by the city of Ludwigshafen, Germany and was premiered in May 2005 in a performance by the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz Orchestra conducted by Daniel Roth’s son, Francois-Xavier Roth. Daniel Roth is also renowned for his improvisations, which are regularly included on his concert programs.

Daniel Roth has numerous recordings to his credit from companies of JAV Recordings, Erato, Philips, Arion, Pathé-Marconi, EMI, Wergo, Motette-Ursina, Priory and Aeolus. He has won several "Diapason d'Or" from the French magazine Diapason.

Current as of July 2006