APRA Award winning British-Australian Organist, Joseph Nolan, has been hailed by Limelight Magazine ‘as indisputably one of the world’s greatest organists’ and praised by Gramophone Magazine for his ‘towering technique, vivid virtuosity and inspired interpretive insight’.
Norman Lebrecht, arguably one of the world’s most visible and influential music writers, awarded Nolan’s latest cycle - The complete organ works of Alkan - a review score of 100 per cent in La Scena magazine (Canada) stating ‘This album is categorically in a class of its own. Nothing like it anywhere on record. Literally awesome’.
Additionally, Lebrecht chose the first disc of the Alkan cycle as Album of the Week in Slippedisc as well as awarding the disc a five-star review in The Critic Magazine, UK. The Guardian newspaper (UK) awarded the first disc of the cycle five stars citing ‘Nolan’s death-defying virtuosity’.
Limelight recently awarded Joseph his fourth Editor’s Choice stating, ‘One can only be awestruck by Nolan’s heroism in tackling this fiendishly difficult extravaganza’. Notably, Joseph is the first and only organist to have been awarded Limelight’s coveted Recording of the Month for his disc entitled ‘Midnight at St Etienne Du Mont’ featuring the church and organ where Maurice Duruflé was organist.
Joseph’s discography for Gramophone label of the Year, Signum Classical, features many of the world’s greatest organs including Berliner Dom, Germany, St Sulpice, Paris, La Madeleine, Paris, St Etienne Du Mont, Paris, St Sernin Toulouse, St Francois de Sales, Lyon, St Bavo, Haarlem, and Eglise St Martin, Dudelange, Luxembourg.
These recordings have been awarded innumerable five-star reviews, Editor’s Choice, Critics’ Choice, Recommended and Recordings of the Month and Year in Gramophone, Limelight, BBC Music Magazine and Apple Classical.
Joseph has performed as a featured soloist with many of the major orchestras, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Nolan made his solo debut as part of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra season in October 2025 to a capacity audience at Victoria Hall.
The Government of France awarded Joseph Nolan the medal of Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres for services to French music in 2016. Joseph is also holder of the prestigious higher doctorate, the Doctor of Letters, conferred by the University of Western Australia in 2018.
A graduate of the Royal College of Music, London, Nolan won scholarships from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Hattori Foundation and the Royal Philharmonic Society to undertake postgraduate studies in Paris with the legendary French organist, Marie Claire Alain.
