William Christie (harpsichordist)

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William Lincoln Christie (born December 19, 1944 in Buffalo, New York) is an American-born French conductor and harpsichordist. He is a specialist in baroque repertoire and is the founder of the ensemble Les Arts Florissants.


In 1979, Christie founded Les Arts Florissants, named after the opera of the same name by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, which was to be its first fully staged production. Major recognition came in 1986 with the production of Lully's Atys at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.[1] Christie has also presented and recorded works by André Campra, François Couperin, Claudio Monteverdi and Jean-Philippe Rameau.[2]

Christie was a professor at the Paris Conservatoire from 1982 to 1995, and maintains an active role in pedagogy by participating in master classes and academies. In 2002, he founded Le Jardin des Voix, a biennial academy for young singers in Caen.[3] Since 2007, he has had an affiliation with the Juilliard School, providing master classes in historical performance practice.[4]

Christie has widened his group's core French repertoire, performing Henry Purcell, George Frideric Handel, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He has been guest conductor at the Glyndebourne Festival, and productions for Zurich Opera and the Opera de Lyon. He has also conducted period-instrument performances with more modern ensembles such as the Berlin Philharmonic.[5]

Christie took French citizenship in 1995.[6] He was appointed Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 1993 and he is an Officier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He was elected a member of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts on November 12, 2008, in the "Unattached members" section (Membres libres), at the seat formerly held by Marcel Marceau, Seat #1.[7] The elaborate gardens Christie designed for his house in Thiré were designated as a monument historique in 2006.[8]


  1. ^ a b c Nicholas Wroe (2009-06-20). "A life in music: William Christie". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-12-25. 
  2. ^ Jamie James (1992-05-10). "A Cultural Ambassador More French Than the French". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-26. 
  3. ^ Amanda Holloway (2005-03-15). "A Baroque Boot Camp For Singers With a Gift". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-26. 
  4. ^ Weisman, Wendy (November 2007). "Christie to Launch 2-Part Residency at Juilliard". The Juilliard Journal Online XXII (3). Retrieved 2009-12-19. 
  5. ^ Martin Kettle (2002-04-05). "Up the revolution". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-03-24. 
  6. ^ Peter Conrad (2004-01-18). "Corpus Christie". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-12-26. 
  7. ^ "Élection de M. William CHRISTIE dans la section des Membres Libres" (Press release). Académie des Beaux-Arts. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-27. 
  8. ^ http://www.jardindewilliamchristie.fr/index.php

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