Orchestre National de France

The Orchestre National de France (ONF), which is part of Radio France, was founded in 1934 to focus entirely on the symphonic repertoire and to make this accessible to the public across the country through radio broadcasts. Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht was the first Chief Conductor, whose tenure lasted from 1934 to 1944; over the last four decades, Lorin Maazel (1977–1991), Charles Dutoit (1991–2001), Kurt Masur (2003–2008), and Daniele Gatti (2008–2016) have served as its leaders. In September 2017, Emmanuel Krivine assumed the position of Music Director. The ONF gives around 70 concerts each year at the Auditorium de Radio France in Paris, its headquarters since November 2014. It also performs at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and regularly tours France and abroad. The musicians have premiered numerous new scores, including Boulez’s Le Soleil des eaux, Varèse’s Déserts, and most of Henri Dutilleux’s orchestral works. In the 2019-20 season, the ONF will continue its ongoing Berlioz cycle, present Spanish and Latin American music (with Juan Pons and Alondra de la Parra on the podium), and focus on Ludwig van Beethoven’s early works; Emmanuel Krivine will conduct the Ninth Symphonies by Beethoven, Bruckner, and Dvořák. Among next season’s prominent soloists are Martha Argerich, Renaud Capuçon, Julia Fischer, Matthias Goerne, and Evgeny Kissin. The Orchestre National de France is active in the educational field with family and school concerts as well as through special projects for amateur musicians. The ONF’s performances are broadcast by France Musique and are available as videos on the Internet. An annual highlight is the Concert de Paris, which takes place on France’s national holiday at Champ-de-Mars and is broadcast live on television.

LUCERNE FESTIVAL (IMF) debut in the summer of 1967 with three concerts conducted by Maurice Le Roux, Igor Markevitch, and Sir Georg Solti.

August 2019