Editor: Helga Schauerte-Maubouet Louis Vierne (1870-1937) studied privately with César Franck and was appointed titulaire organist at Notre-Dame (Paris) in 1900. Numerous concert tours throughout Europe and the USA made him world famous. His pupils included Marcel Dupré, whose pupil Thierry Escaich has worked on this edition. Vierne’s organ works are masterworks and are fi rmly established amongst the most demanding organ repertoire. In particular, Vierne raised the form of the organ symphony to a new height. Vierne’s six symphonies are stylistic highlights of the French organ symphony taking César Franck as their starting point. Vierne’s sixth and last Organ Symphony op. 59 was written in summer 1930. In this work, his well-known chromatic style verged on the traditional major-minor tonality.