Patrick Messina

Born in Nice to Sicilian and Spanish parents, Patrick Messina began his career in the United States, more specifically in New York in 1996, when he won First Prize in the East and West Artists International Auditions, enabling him to perform in recital at Carnegie Hall.

One of France's leading clarinetists, Patrick Messina has won international acclaim for his captivating interpretations and recognizable sound, which infuse his singularity across a wide repertoire.

Parallel to his solo activities, he worked for six years with New York's Metropolitan Opera, under the direction of James Levine, Valery Gergiev and Leonard Slatkin. In 2003, he became 1st clarinet soloist with the Orchestre National de France under Kurt Masur. A musician much appreciated by the greatest conductors, Patrick Messina is regularly invited as clarinet soloist by prestigious ensembles such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He appears as soloist under the baton of Riccardo Muti, Bernard Haitink, Tan Dun, Daniele Gatti, Yehudi Menuhin, Kristjan Järvi, Jaap Van Zweden, Sascha Goetzel, Anton Nanut, John Axelrod and Trevor Pinnock, with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Cannes, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Orchestre des Nations, Orchestre National d'Ile-de-France, Orchestre de chambre de Toulouse, Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra (Korea), National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine, Kioi Sinfonietta (Japan).

His name appears on the bill of the greatest festivals: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Gstaad, Spoleto, Savannah, Mitte Europa, Pablo Casals, Les Flâneries Musicales, Menton, Besançon, Schleswig-Holstein, Berlioz, Pontlevoy, Wissembourg, Istanbul. His partners include Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Roger Muraro, Fabrizio Chiovetta, Simone Dinnerstein, Menahem Pressler, Jean-Marc Luisada, Edita Gruberova, Tatjana Vassiljeva, Gautier Capuçon, the Philharmonia Quartett Berlin (of the Berliner Philharmoniker), the Quatuors Debussy, Diotima, Carducci, Fine Arts, Elysées, Parker, Vogler, Aron and the Beaux-Arts Trio.

Patrick Messina records for the Aparté Music label. His latest CD, released in June 2018, devoted to Arvo Pärt, Jaan Raats and Henryk Gorecki (with Henri Demarquette and Fabrizio Chiovetta) has already been awarded a “Choc” by Classica as well as 5 stars by Pizzicato magazine. His previous album, dedicated to Schumann, was also unanimously acclaimed by the critics (5 de Diapason, 5 de Musica). Prior to this, his remarkable Mozart album on Harmonia Mundi, featuring the famous Clarinet Concerto accompanied by the Orchestre National de France, conducted by Riccardo Muti. “And what if, quite simply, we had here one of the greatest references of the Mozart Concerto? It's up to you to judge: as far as we're concerned, it's a done deal. “Concertonet

Also very active in the field of contemporary music, he is notably the dedicatee of Bechara El-Khoury's Clarinet Concerto, which he recorded in 2012 for the Naxos label with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris.In addition, his interest in world music and improvisation has led him to collaborate with artists such as Ira Coleman, Mark Feldman, Lionel Loueke, Vincent Segal, Chico Pinheiro and producer Robert Sadin. With the latter, he took part in Placido Domingo's recording “Encanto del mar” released by Sony and Lionel Loueke's album “the Journey” (Aparté, 2018).

Since 2011 he has been a professor at the Ecole Normale “Alfred Cortot” in Paris and more recently at the IESM “Pôle Supérieur” in Aix en Provence. In June 2016 he was appointed Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he is also a visiting professor.