Musicatlas
Music
Composer of Organ Works: Symphony in Three Movements (1st Prize Les Amis de l’Orgue, Paris) The Embrace of Fire, Expressions for Organ, Fantasie sur "Adeste, Fidèles" and Hommage à Igor Stravinski.
He has also composed for harpsichord, harp, guitar quartet, trumpet and organ: Fantasie pour Piano et Orchestre, Concerto for Organ and Strings, Oratorio "Saul de Tarse" and Le Tombeau d’Olivier Messiaen.
Among his latest worldrenowned compositions for symphonic Orchestra are: "Les noces de l’agneau" and "Hymne de l’univers".
Life
Pupil of Jean Langlais and studied at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris. Won first prizes in harmony, counterpoint, organ, improvisation, analysis and orchestration.
He also received first prizes at the international organ competitions at Haarlem, Beauvis, Lyon, Nuremburg, Saint Albans, Strasbourg and Rennes.
Hakim was organist of the Basilica of the Sacre-Coeur in Paris from 1985 to 1993. He is presently organist of la Trinité, directly succeeding Olivier Messiaen. He is currently professor at the National Regional Conservatory of Boulogne-Billancourt and visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
(Contribution by Annelie de Man <rdeman
chello.nl>)
Naji Hakim was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1955. He studied organ with Jean Langlais in Paris from 1975 and continued his musical studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, winning many prizes, and going on to win first prizes in the International Organ Competitions at Haarlem, Beauvais, Lyon, Nuremberg, St Albans, Strasbourg and Rennes. As a composer he has won the composition prize of the "Amis de l’orgue" (for his Symphonie en Trois Mouvements, 1984), the first prize in the International Composition Competition for organ, in memory of Anton Heiller (for The Embrace of Fire, Collegedale, Tennessee, 1986) and in 1991 he received the "Prix de Composition Musicale André Caplet", from the Académie des Beaux-Arts. He was organist of the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur, Paris from 1985 until 1993, when he succeeded Olivier Messiaen at the Eglise de la Trinité. A player of exceptional virtuosity, he is much in demand as a recitalist, improviser and teacher, with engagements for concerts and masterclasses taking him all over the world. He broadcasts and records frequently and his compositions have featured on several recent CD releases in performances by himself and others. Related web site: United Music Publishers.