Yvonne Loriod
Illustration — Loriod teaching piano at the Conservatoire de Paris to François Weigel (3 June 1982) Yvonne Louise Georgette Loriod-Messiaen (LL- (eng)-Exilexi-Yvonne Loriod.wav; 20 January 1924 – 17 May 2010) was a French pianist, teacher, and composer, and the second wife of composer Olivier Messiaen. Her sister was the Ondes Martenot player Jeanne Loriod.
Also recorded as Yvonne Louise-Georgette Loriod-Messiaen · Yvonne Louise Georgette Loriod-Messiaen
Yvonne Loriod

Agence26 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Born
- 1924
- Nationality
- France
- Occupation
- pianist · composer · music educator · university teacher · musician
- Fields
- classical music
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Illustration — Loriod teaching piano at the Conservatoire de Paris to François Weigel (3 June 1982) Yvonne Louise Georgette Loriod-Messiaen (LL- (eng)-Exilexi-Yvonne Loriod.wav; 20 January 1924 – 17 May 2010) was a French pianist, teacher, and composer, and the second wife of composer Olivier Messiaen. Her sister was the Ondes Martenot player Jeanne Loriod.
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museum · 755f2d93-e9bb-4dbd-841c-9e8e639d4edf · wikidata · Q235500 · wikipedia · Yvonne Loriod
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Biography
Biography
Loriod was born in Houilles, Yvelines to Gaston and Simone Loriod. Initially receiving piano lessons from her godmother, she later studied at the Paris Conservatoire and became one of Olivier Messiaen's most avid pupils. She also studied with Isidor Philipp, Lazare Lévy then Marcel Ciampi. She went on to become a nationally acclaimed recording artist and concert pianist and premiered most of Messiaen's works for the piano, starting in the 1940s. Messiaen said that he was able to indulge in "the greatest eccentricities" when writing for piano, knowing that they would be mastered by Loriod. Both she and her sister Jeanne often performed as the soloists in his Turangalîla-Symphonie. Loriod also orchestrated part of Messiaen's final orchestral work, Concert à quatre. Loriod gave the French premiere of Béla Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1945, having learnt it in only eight days. In 1961, Loriod married Olivier Messiaen following the death of his long institutionalized first wife, Claire Delbos. She is generally considered to be the most important interpreter of Messiaen's piano works. In her later years, she and Messiaen acted as mentors to the pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, who has since become a great champion of the works of Messiaen. Olivier Messiaen died in April 1992 in Saint-Denis. She survived him by 18 years and died on 17 May 2010 in Paris, aged 86.
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
Yvonne Loriod was recorded at birth as Yvonne Louise Georgette Loriod. Her recorded language was French. She married Olivier Messiaen.

Yvonne Loriod teaching a course at CNSM in Paris, June 1982 (The student is François Weigel)
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Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1924
Yvonne Loriod born at Houilles.
2010
Yvonne Loriod died at Saint-Denis.
Compositions
• Pièce sur la souffrance, for orchestra • Mélopées africaines, for Ondes Martenot, piano and flute (1945) • Grains de cendre, for soprano and chamber orchestra (1946)
Publications
• Messiaen, Olivier. Traité de rythme, de couleur, et d’ornithologie (1949–1992) ("Treatise on rhythm, colour and ornithology"), completed by Yvonne Loriod. 7 parts bound in 8 volumes. Paris: Leduc, 1994–2002. • Messiaen, Olivier. Analyses of the Piano Works of Maurice Ravel, edited by Yvonne Loriod, translated by Paul Griffiths. [Paris]: Durand, 2005.
Selected recordings
• Olivier Messiaen: Catalogue d'oiseaux • Label Erato, STU 70595 à 598 • 1971 • Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla Symphonie • Label: Deutsche Grammophon, 31781 • 12 May 1992 • Olivier Messiaen: Vingt Regards sur l'enfant-Jésus • Label: Erato, 4509-91705-2 • 3 August 1993
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q235500: Yvonne Loriod
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Yvonne Loriod”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Yvonne Loriod
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
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References
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MusicBrainz artist record for Yvonne LoriodMetaBrainz Foundation
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Further particulars
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Further particulars
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Yvonne Loriod studied at Conservatoire de Paris. She trained under Lazare Lévy, Marcel Ciampi, Darius Milhaud and Olivier Messiaen. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style.
Yvonne Loriod received Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, Officer of Arts and Letters, Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit and Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit. Recorded as pianist, composer, music educator and university teacher.
Recognition and collections
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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