Matthias Goerne appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres

German baritone MATTHIAS GOERNE has been appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres de La France by the French Ministry of Culture for his contributions to the cultural landscape of France over the nearly three decades he has been appearing as a soloist in the country. The honor solidifies his reputation as an important artist dedicated to maintaining Franco-Germanic cultural exchange, cooperation, and shared future of artistic integrity.

“Matthias Goerne, the voice of perfection.”

-Le Figaro

“Mr. Goerne is an ideal singer of lieder. His voice is strong, dark and rich. Though he can easily summon chesty power and chilling intensity, he can also bend a phrase with tenderness and focus his sound into streams of ethereal lyricism.”

- New York Times

The honor was awarded to him by the President of the Theatre des Champs Elysees, Michael Franck following Matthias Goerne’s performance with The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

In remarks following the presentation of the award, Matthias Goerne said: “It is a deeply touching honor to receive this award. I would say to this wonderful country, and its people and audiences, that France has long been one of the most important places for me to make music. Thank you for supporting me as an artist, and being so attentive as an audience and for being a public so interested in maintaining broad support for the arts.”

Instituted May 2, 1957, l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an honor given by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of France and given to those who are distinguished for their artistic creation or literary output, or for those who have supported the dissemination of French culture throughout the world. L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres has three levels: Chevalier, Officier and Commandeur. According to the Ministry of Culture, only 960 croix des Arts et des Lettres are given out each year. 

About MATTHIAS GORNE

Celebrated around the globe for his opera and concert performances, German baritone Matthias Goerne is a frequent guest with leading orchestras and renowned festivals and concert halls.

Goerne’s artistry has been documented on numerous recordings, many of which have received rave reviews and prestigious awards, including five Grammy nominations, an ICMA award, a Gramophone Award, the BBC Music Magazine Vocal Award 2017, Diapason d’or arte, and the ECHO Klassik 2017 in the category „singer of the year” and hass been appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In the past two years, he has released three albums with Deutsche Grammophon: Beethoven Songs with Jan Lisiecki; a collection of Wagner, Strauss and Pfitzner Songs with Seong-Jin Cho and his new album of Schumann and Brahms Songs with Daniil Trifonov, which was just awarded “Vocal Recording of the Year” by Limelight.

He was appointed an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London, and, in past seasons, was an Artist-in-Residence at Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and at The New York Philharmonic.

Highlights of the past season included concerts with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Jaap van Zweden, the Orchestre National de France under Cristian Macelaru, the Boston Symphony under Antonio Pappano, the Munich Philharmonic under Paavo Järvi, and recitals with Christoph Eschenbach, Seong-Jin Cho, Markus Hinterhäuser, Alexandre Kantorow and Daniil Trifonov. At the Berlin State Opera Matthias Goerne performed the role of Sarastro and at the Liceu in Barcelona the title role in Berg's Wozzeck. In the summer of 2022, he sang the role of Wotan with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl in a production by Yuval Sharon. He also appeared at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Salzburg Festival.

Season highlights in the 2022/23 season include concerts with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra as well as the Orchestre National de France conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen as well as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck and Dallas Symphony Orchestra under Fabio Luisi.

Matthias Goerne will perform the role of Marke in Toulouse as well as the role of Amfortas at the Liceu Barcelona. Recitals with Leif Ove Andsnes, Markus Hinterhäuser and Víkingur Ólafsson will take him to Paris, London and Florence, among other cities.