The organ is closely associated with the work of Olivier Messiaen, who for more than seventy years held the Cavaillé-Coll organ at the Trinité in Paris.
The Auditorium-Orchestre national de Lyon was the ideal partner for the international organ competition. This instrument is an important part of the identity of the Lyon Auditorium, which owns a remarkable example, unique in France.
Over the years, the EPCC AIDA – which runs the Berlioz Festival in La Côte-Saint-André and the Maison Messiaen – and the Auditorium-Orchestre national de Lyon have built up a close and cooperative artistic collaboration. What better setting than the Lyon Auditorium and its Cavaillé-Coll organ to welcome organists from around the world?
This 82-stop organ was built in 1878 for the Trocadero Palace in Paris, before being modernized, reassembled at the Palais de Chaillot and then transferred to the Lyon Auditorium in 1977. Numerous works have been performed there in their world premiere, including Messiaen’s Les Corps glorieux, performed by the composer himself on April 15, 1945.
Restored to its splendor in 2013 (Michel Gaillard, Maison Aubertin), it is today the only concert hall grand organ in France outside of Paris.
