Orchestre de Paris

The Orchestre de Paris was founded in 1967 as the successor to the Orchestre ­de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, which had shaped musical life in the French capital since 1828. The first music director was Charles Münch, after whose death in November 1968 Herbert von Karajan took over as “conseiller musical” for two years. The orchestra was subsequently led by such star figures as Sir Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, Semyon Bychkov, Christoph Eschenbach, Paavo Järvi, and Daniel Harding. Klaus Mäkelä has held the position of Chief Conductor since 2021. In the 2023-24 season, he performed a broad repertoire in Paris, ranging from Bach to Unsuk Chin. A total of 119 musicians currently belong to the Orchestre de Paris, which has been based in the new Paris Philharmonie, built by Jean Nouvel, as the resident orchestra since 2015. Each season the orchestra gives about one hundred concerts, which are supplemented by international guest performances. The latter have taken the orchestra to the USA, Latin America, and Asia and across Europe. In addition to the French repertoire of the 19th and 20th centuries, contemporary music plays an important role in the programs, whether in cycles of works by Messiaen, Dutilleux, and Boulez or in world premieres. The Orchestre de Paris considers its educational projects and, above all, its work for young people to be a priority. It therefore offers special events for school classes, families, and disadvantaged groups who would otherwise not come into contact with music, both at the Philharmonie de Paris and throughout the city and its suburbs.

ucerne Festival (IMF) debut on 8 September 1977, when Daniel Barenboim led a program of works by Sibelius, Debussy, and Berlioz.

March 2024