On Tuesday, the French organist Olivier Latry played a program of organ music by Olivier Messiaen, Gerald Levinson, and Jean Louis Florentz at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. In a sense, he was a guest of Iveta Apkalna—the hall’s main organist and “artistic adviser” in matters related to the king of instruments. Before the performance, I met both musicians in a room with minimalist white furniture and a stunning panoramic view of Hamburg. Both were friendly, though Latry’s expression while he wasn’t talking could turn impassive, almost strict. At the concert later, the man in front of me was on his phone: “…as I was texting you during these really modern pieces.” I wondered if Latry would have said something to him, but wasn’t too bothered—the frighteningly loud Messiaen works were persuasive arguments for the presence of a divine, retributive justice in the universe.
Unlimited access to our
