This Friday (December 12, 2025), French conductor Adrien Perruchon leads one of the Athens State Orchestra’s most distinctive programs, featuring three works that combine symphony orchestra and pipe organ. The soloist will be Vincent Dubois, titular organist of the restored Notre-Dame of Paris. Shortly before the concert, the versatile conductor spoke about the path that led him to orchestral conducting, contemporary musical practice, and the unique musical delights of this rare concert.
You have a truly interesting resume: from pianist, you moved to bassoon, then percussion, and finally became an orchestra conductor. How did that come about?
My initial motivation was always a love for the orchestra and its repertoire. My father, who was a pianist, suffered from the solitude of the instrument and the fact that he wasn’t part of an orchestra. That’s why he eventually became a composer and encouraged me, my brothers, and my sisters from a very early age to choose an orchestral instrument. The desire to become a conductor was directly linked to this thirst to embrace more and more repertoire, and my years as an orchestral musician were a wonderful bridge. I learned a great deal from my colleagues, as well as from the conductors under whom I played.
Did working with famous conductors play a role in your career change?
Yes, of course. The years I spent as an assistant were extremely valuable: that’s when my knowledge of orchestral conducting expanded and became professionalized, especially in the field of opera, a world that attracted me and served as a real gateway to the conducting profession.
Alain Altinoglu entrusted me with my first opera production and my first time conducting in the orchestra pit, which allowed me to discover a new facet of the profession. This also gave me the opportunity to settle in one place and work with a team for several artistic seasons, such as at the Cologne Opera or the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where I worked alongside François-Xavier Roth and Gustavo Dudamel.
Finally, with Esa-Pekka Salonen, I had the opportunity to assist him with many orchestras around the world, which allowed me to approach the same repertoire through very different orchestral identities. All these experiences offered me a concentrated and multifaceted insight into our profession.
In some cases, you made last-minute substitutions. What is the secret to the success of such dangerous missions?
Knowledge of orchestral life and repertoire is an undeniable advantage, especially when rehearsal time is limited. I was fortunate to grow up, thanks to my composer father, amidst a vast music library. Analyzing musical texts and delving into the ‘kitchen’ of composers evolved into very natural reflexes, which gave me a consistent method for approaching new works.
As a percussionist, you worked in Seoul. What was your experience like in Korea?
My years as a timpanist with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra marked the beginning of a very strong relationship I maintain with Korea, both personally and musically. Also, it was in Seoul that I began conducting, and taking on my duties this year as principal conductor of the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra (Bucheon), one of the capital’s most important orchestras, holds great significance for me. It is both the continuation of a story and the beginning of a new, exciting adventure. We are lucky to have a wonderful hall and a large, enthusiastic audience for this orchestra: it’s amazing.
Are you still involved in all these activities, or are you now exclusively dedicated to conducting?
I haven’t been involved at all for a decade, but I still try to play chamber music on percussion regularly. It’s a way to approach the stage and a repertoire I really enjoy, but today it constitutes a very small part of my activity due to lack of time.
As you transitioned from one role to another, what assets did you carry with you, or did you have to be careful not to bring unnecessary baggage?
In music, as in life, I consider every experience a gain. Esa-Pekka Salonen rightly says that conducting is the only musical activity where 100% of personal practice takes place in the presence of another person: you never practice conducting alone. Therefore, it is through experience — and especially mistakes — that you build yourself.
Your concert program is very special, lasting about an hour, and I think it moves from the introspective to the more virtuosic. It begins with a very evocative piece by Messiaen.
Messiaen is a composer who has haunted me since childhood. His language – or rather his languages – combine modes, Greek rhythms, bird songs, harmonic and organ colors. Les Offrandes is an early work by a composer-organist who uses the orchestra as a tremendous force, but also sometimes contrary to its usual function, with very original blends.
My grandmother, a schoolteacher near the Paris Conservatoire, used to go to Sunday mass at the Church of the Holy Trinity, where Messiaen would improvise on the organ. She would tell me, in the words of a non-musician, how Messiaen ‘occupied time and space.’ His music often transcends these two reference points, and this is particularly evident in the final movement with its extremely slow tempo, like an invitation to performers and listeners to transcend themselves in a shared experience — an extremely spiritual gesture.
The second work is Handel. We forgot to mention that you are also an expert in early music – how challenging is it nowadays for a symphony orchestra with modern instruments to play Baroque music?
We live in a wonderful era: today, orchestral musicians possess a very broad education and a richer acoustic experience, thanks to the practice or influence of period instruments. Harnoncourt had predicted that 21st-century musicians would play Bach in the morning on appropriate instruments and then contemporary music on the same day — and this has indeed become a reality. The musicians of the Athens State Orchestra are a good example: they are true chameleons, willing to put themselves in the shoes of any composer. I am delighted to be able to present such a diverse program with them.
The evening concludes with Joseph Jongen’s Symphonie Concertante, little known to the general public – which will be 100 years old in 2026. Tell us why music lovers should get to know it better.
It’s a wonderful work for anyone discovering the grand organ for the first time, but also a true catalog of orchestral colors — ideal for those wishing to explore this world. The symphonic dimension is particularly strong in the last two movements, where the organ integrates into the orchestra with remarkable subtlety.
One last question: organ and symphony orchestra — what are the stakes, the favorite works, the challenges, and also the hidden pleasures?
The hidden pleasure lies in those moments where we suddenly doubt what we are hearing: is it the organ, is it the orchestra? The greatest challenge is precisely to reveal the moments where the organ emerges from the orchestral texture to take the floor. I enjoy discovering this balance in Saint-Saëns’ Symphony, which is often played but always renewable thanks to its infinite sonic combinations. This is, I believe, one of the great virtues of this very special combination.
Here you will find the concert program and the biographies of the contributors.
