Biography
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 solo clarinet of the Orchestre National de France under Kurt Masur. A musician much appreciated by the greatest conductors, Patrick Messina is regularly invited as principal clarinet by prestigious ensembles such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
He appears as soloist with Riccardo Muti, Bernard Haitink, Tan Dun, Daniele Gatti, Yehudi Menuhin, Kristjan Järvi, Jaap Van Zweden, Sascha Goetzel, Anton Nanut, John Axelrod, Josep Vicent and Trevor Pinnock, and 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, National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine, Tokyo Kioi Sinfonietta and Zurich Chamber Orchestra.
His name is 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, Santa Fe.
His partners include Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Roger Muraro, Garrick Ohlsson, Haochen Zhang, Fabrizio Chiovetta, Simone Dinnerstein, Michel Beroff, Menahem Pressler, Jean-Marc Luisada, Jean-François Heisser, Kian Soltani, Edita Gruberova, Tatjana Vassiljeva, Renaud Capuçon, Xavier Phillips, Henri Demarquette, Gautier Capuçon, the Philharmonia Quartett Berlin, 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 Kaleidoscopic CD devoted to Arvo Pärt, Jaan Raats and Henryk Gorecki was awarded a “Choc” by Classica and 5 stars by Pizzicato magazine.
His previous album, dedicated to Robert Schumann, was also hailed by the critics (5 de Diapason, 5 de Musica).
Prior to this, we should mention his remarkable Mozart album released by Harmonia Mundi, featuring the famous Clarinet Concerto accompanied by the Orchestre National de France, conducted by Riccardo Muti.
"What if, quite simply, this was one of the greatest references of the Mozart Concerto? It's up to each and every one of us to judge: as far as we're concerned, it's a done deal." - Concertonet
Equally 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).
Patrick Messina began learning the clarinet with his father, then at the CRR de Nice in Claude Crousier's class. He continued his studies at the CNSMD in Paris with Guy Deplus and Michel Arrignon, at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Franklin Cohen and at Mannes College in New York with Ricardo Morales.
Since 2011, he has been a teacher at the Ecole Normale “Alfred Cortot” in Paris.
In June 2016, he was appointed Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he is also a visiting professor.
Awards and honours
- 1st Price – International Competition East & West Artists – New York, USA (1998)
- 1st Price – International Competition Heida Hermanns – Connecticut, USA (1996)
- 1st Price - Houston Symphony Competition / Ima Hogg – Houston, USA (1996)
- Winner of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation (1991)
Pictures
Videos
Agenda
21 Mars 2026
Création mondiale du Concerto pour clarinette de Tan Dun
Auditorium de Radio France – Paris – France
With Cristian Măcelaru & l’Orchestre National de France
13 Janvier 2026
Mardis Musicaux du Grand Théâtre d’Angers
Angers – France
With Lise Berthaud et Fabrizio Chiovetta
October 18, 2025
Présidence du Concours international de clarinette Jacques Lancelot
France
12 Octobre 2025
Festival de l’orangerie de Sceaux
Sceaux – France
25 au 30 Août 2025
Direction artistique du Festival de Caunes-Minervois
Caunes-Minervois – France
10 au 16 Août 2025
Festival Borgo in Musica
San Marco d’Alunzio – Italie
4 au 9 Août 2025
Académie Internationale d’été de Nice
Nice – France
With l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice
24 Juillet au 2 Août 2025
Festival de Shanxi Hejun
Shanxi – Chine
9 Juillet 2025
Festival Mozart dans la Drôme
Montboucher-sur-Jabron – France
With Philippe Bernold & Quatuor Fidelio
7 Juillet 2025
Festival de Toulouse
Toulouse – France
With Edwin Crossley-Mercer & l’Orchestre du Printemps
1er Juillet 2025
Festival des Fôrets
Compiègne – France
With Thierry Escaich, Karen Vourc’h et Gabriel Durliat
17 au 20 Juin 2025
Master-class au Conservatoire de Vibo Valencia
Vibo Valencia – Italie
16 Juin 2025
Festival Les Fièvres Musicales – Chapelle Saint-Louis de l’Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière
Paris – France
29 Mai 2025
Concours international de Pordenone
Pordenone – Italie
With le Calamus Ensemble
May 23, 2025
Les Soirées Musicales de Grimaud
Grimaud – France
With le Quatuor Naïs
1er au 4 Mai 2025
Master-class au Conservatoire de Gênes
Gênes – Italie
26 au 30 Avril 2025
Jury Concours International de clarinette « Città Di Vallo della Lucania »
Vallo della Lucania – Italie
March 19, 2025
Concert de lancement du disque Mozart & Bruch
Paris – France
With Lise Berthaud and Fabrizio Chiovetta
December 27 - 31, 2024 / January 13 - 17, 2025
Neubrandenburg Philharmonic
Neustrelitz – Germany
October 28 - 29, 2024
Royal Academy of Music
London – England
October 6, 2024
L’entrepôt
Paris – France
With Virginie Constant and Jean-Baptiste Fonlupt
September 21 - 22, 2024
Maison Francis Poulenc - Heritage Day
Noizay – France
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