One of the most illustrious organists of her generation, Marie-Claire Alain was the daughter of organist composer Albert Alain. Her recital tours around the world have earned her the reputation of one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s greatest performers, and in the United States she is known as The First Lady of the Organ. A student of Marcel Dupré, Maurice Duruflé and Simone Plé-Caussade at the Conservatoire de Paris, she won numerous prizes before winning a large number of international competitions, including the second prize at the 1950 Geneva Competition, while perfecting her skills with Gaston Litaize and André Marchal. She has made a significant contribution to promoting the work of her brother Jehan Alain, composer and organist, and has given more than 2,500 concerts, in recital or as a soloist with an orchestra. Critics are unanimous in praising the luminous clarity of her playing, the purity of her style and her mastery of the art of registration. A highly sought-after teacher, she was invited to the most prestigious American and Japanese universities and to all the major European conservatories, she based her teaching on the in-depth musicological studies she constantly carried out in the fields of organistic literature and the performance of early, romantic and symphonic music. She was also in charge of the professional training course for organists at the Conservatoire de Région de Paris from 1994 to 2000, after having taught at the Conservatoire de Région de Rueil-Malmaison from 1978 to 1994. In 1977, she was in charge of the renovation of the Saint-Étienne de Bourges Cathedral grand organs. That same year, she founded the académie Bach of Saint-Donat, where she taught every summer around the Schwenkedel organ until 1991, and was the permanent guest of the Romainmôtier Organ Academy in Switzerland from 1991 onwards, where she taught on the restored organ of the Alain family. She was the owner of the Saint-Louis de Saint-Germain-en-Laye church organ, where she replaced her father. Her discography includes more than 200 references, including the famous Complete Works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Dietrich Buxtehude, César Franck, Jehan Alain, which have earned her more than 15 Grand Prix du disque.
