Louis Lortie

In recital and in chamber music, Louis Lortie regularly performs at Wigmore Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall, and the Chicago Symphony Hall. He is particularly sought after for his integration of the Years of Pilgrimage of Liszt in one evening, the Etudes of Chopins (complete) in one evening, or his cycles of Beethoven sonatas; the latest one was filmed at the Salle Bourgie in Montreal and broadcast on Medici TV. For more than twenty years, with Hélène Mercier, the Lortie-Mercier duo has brought new perspectives on the repertoire for four hands and two pianos in concert as well as their numerous recordings.
A decades-long relationship with Chandos Records has to date produced a catalogue of more than forty-five recordings, spanning repertoire from Mozart to Stravinsky. It includes a complete cycle of Beethoven’s sonatas as well as Liszt’s complete Années de pèlerinage. Recent projects include the complete works for piano by Chopin, the last volume of which features the cello sonata with Truls Mørk to be released in October 2025, and a series focused on piano works by Fauré, to which he has brought new light. As a champion of twentieth-century music, he has built a discography that includes a highly praised recording of Lutosławski’s Piano Concerto with Edward Gardner and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Exploring the Piano Concerto by Vaughan Williams, he has recorded not only the original version, with Peter Oundjian and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, but also the version for two pianos, reworked by the composer, with his duo partner, Hélène Mercier, and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis. Louis Lortie and Hélène Mercier have also recorded Le Carnaval des animaux, with Neeme Järvi and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and Rachmaninoff’s complete works for two pianos, as well as two volumes of works for two pianos and four hands by Debussy.
Louis Lortie is co-founder and Artistic Director of the LacMus Festival, which has been held yearly since 2017 on Lake Como. He was master in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels from 2017 to 2022 and continues to mentor pianists of exceptional talent by introducing the new generation through concert cycles.
Louis Lortie made his debut with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at the age of thirteen, and in 1984 won the first prize of the Busoni competition and the fourth prize of the Leeds Competition. He studied with Yvonne Hubert (herself a student of the legendary Alfred Cortot) and with Dieter Weber in Vienna, and then with Leon Fleisher. He was honoured with the title of "Officer of the Order of Canada" in 1992, and "Chevalier Ordre national du Québec" in 1997, and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Laval the same year.