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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 for his “towering technique, vivid virtuosity and inspired interpretive insight”.
The first volume of Nolan’s latest recording cycle for Signum Classics (UK), The Complete Organ Works of Alkan, has attracted exceptional international acclaim. Norman Lebrecht awarded the cycle a perfect 100 per cent in La Scena (Canada), describing it as “categorically in a class of its own. Nothing like it anywhere on record. Literally awesome.” Lebrecht also selected the first volume as Album of the Week for Slippedisc and awarded it five stars in The Critic (UK) and Scherzo Magazine (Spain). The Guardian likewise gave the recording five stars, praising Nolan’s “death-defying virtuosity”.
Limelight awarded the release its fourth Editor’s Choice, observing: “One can only be awestruck by Nolan’s heroism in tackling this fiendishly difficult extravaganza.” MusicWeb International awarded the disc Recommended status and as a Recording of the Month for July 2026.
Joseph Nolan is the first and only organist to have received Limelight’s coveted Recording of the Month award, for Midnight at St Étienne du Mont, recorded on the historic Parisian organ associated with Maurice Duruflé.
His extensive discography for Signum Classics, encompasses some of the world’s most celebrated organs, including those of Berliner Dom, St-Sulpice and La Madeleine in Paris, St Étienne du Mont, St-Sernin in Toulouse, St François-de-Sales in Lyon, St Bavo in Haarlem and Église St Martin in Dudelange, Luxembourg. Nolan’s recordings-particularly his landmark cycle of The Complete Organ Works of Widor have received innumerable five-star reviews and distinctions including Editor’s Choice, Critics’ Choice, Recordings of the Month and Recordings of the Year from Gramophone,Limelight, BBC Music Magazine and Apple Music Classical.
As a concerto soloist, Nolan has performed with many leading orchestras, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. In October 2025, he made his solo debut in the Singapore Symphony Orchestra season in a sold-out performance at Victoria Hall.
In recognition of his contribution to French music, Nolan was awarded the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2016. In 2018, he was conferred the prestigious Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by the University of Western Australia.
A graduate of the Royal College of Music, London, Nolan was the recipient of scholarships from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, and the Hattori Foundation, enabling him to pursue postgraduate studies in Paris with the legendary French organist Marie-Claire Alain.
