Orchestre National de France
Orchestre National de France | |
---|---|
Orchestra | |
Short name | ONF |
Founded | 1934 |
Location | Paris, France |
Concert hall | Auditorium de Radio France |
Principal conductor | Cristian Măcelaru |
Website | www |
The Orchestre national de France (ONF; literal translation, National Orchestra of France) is a French
History
The orchestra has had the following names over its history:
- 1934–1945: Orchestre national (National Orchestra)
- 1945–1949: Orchestre national de la Radiodiffusion française (French Radio National Orchestra)
- 1949–1964: Orchestre national de la Radio-télévision française or Orchestre national de la RTF (French Radio and Television National Orchestra)
- 1964–1974: Orchestre national de l'Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française or Orchestre national de l'ORTF (National Orchestra of the French Radio and Television Office)
- 1975–present: Orchestre national de France
The orchestra was founded as the Orchestre national by decree on 18 February 1934, by the
In 1939, half of the musicians were mobilized in the French army. The other half of the orchestra settled in
After the Liberation of France, after examination of his role under the occupation, Inghelbrecht was replaced by Manuel Rosenthal as principal conductor. The orchestra was reorganized and placed under the responsibility of the national radio, the Radiodiffusion Nationale, which became Radiodiffusion Française on 23 March 1945. Further modifications to the French national radio organisation name were Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF) on 9 February 1949, then Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française on 27 June 1964, and finally Radio France on 1 January 1975. The name of the orchestra was progressively modified in accordance with these changes in organization.
Rosenthal reinstated contemporary and French music banned under the German occupation on orchestra programmes. The orchestra also started to serve as a cultural ambassador for France, with tours in Berlin and London in 1946 and in North America in 1948, the last with Charles Munch as conductor. The first official recordings of the orchestra, with conductor Paul Kletzki, appeared in 1947 (
In 1952, then-principal conductor
Maurice Le Roux became music director in 1960, the first conductor to hold that title with the orchestra. The Maison de la Radio was opened during this time, but the orchestra continued to perform in the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. In the context of competition with the newly founded Orchestre de Paris in 1967, Jean Martinon became music director of the Orchestre national in 1968. His commercial recordings with the orchestra included the complete orchestral works by Claude Debussy, and the symphonies by Camille Saint-Saëns. In 1973, Sergiu Celibidache was recruited as premier chef invité (principal guest conductor), but he ended his contract in 1975, as a result of a conflict with some of the musicians.
In January 1975, the creation of
In September 2018, Cristian Măcelaru first guest-conducted the ONF,[8] and returned for a second guest-conducting appearance in the summer of 2019. On the basis of these appearances, in November 2019, the ONF announced the appointment of Măcelaru as its next music director, effective 1 September 2021, with an initial contract of 4 years.[6] Following the early resignation of Krivine, Măcelaru became music director of the ONF on 1 September 2020, one year earlier than originally scheduled.[9] In September 2022, the ONF announced an extension to Măcelaru's contract as music director through 2027.[10]
In addition to commercial recordings for EMI Records during the years 1960–1980, in the French repertoire, other recordings from the orchestra have been issued by Radio France itself, associated with Naïve Records.
Principal conductors and music directors
- Désiré-Emile Inghelbrecht(1934–1944, principal conductor)
- Manuel Rosenthal (1944–1947, principal conductor)
- Roger Désormière (1947–1952, principal conductor)
- Maurice Le Roux (1960–1967, music director)
- Jean Martinon (1968–1973, music director)
- Alain Bancquart (1975-1976, music director)
- Lorin Maazel (1988–1990, music director)
- Charles Dutoit (1991–2001, music director)
- Kurt Masur (2002–2008, music director)
- Daniele Gatti (2008–2016, music director)
- Emmanuel Krivine (2017–2020, music director)
- Cristian Măcelaru (2020–present, music director)
Principal guest conductors
- Sergiu Celibidache (1973–1975)
- Lorin Maazel (1977–1988)
- Jeffrey Tate (1989–1998)
References
- ^ a b c d e Alain Paris, «Orchestre National de France», Encyclopædia Universalis (online)
- ^ Erik Baeck, André Cluytens, itinéraire d'un chef d'orchestre (Brussels, Mardaga, 2009, pp. 148–50
- ^ George Hall (2006-08-31). "Orchestre National de France/ Masur". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ^ "Emmanuel Krivine nommé directeur musical de l'Orchestre National de France" (Press release). Radio France. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
- ^ Marie-Aude Roux (2016-06-13). "Une main ferme à l'Orchestre national de France". Le Monde. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
- ^ a b Sofia Anastasio (2019-11-12). "Cristian Măcelaru nommé à la tête de l'Orchestre national de France". France Musique. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ^ Victor Tribot Laspière (2020-05-28). "Démission surprise d'Emmanuel Krivine à la tête de l'Orchestre national de France". France Musique. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
- ^ Christian Merlin (2019-11-11). "Nomination surprise de Cristian Macelaru à l'Orchestre national de France". Le Figaro. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ^ Laurent Borde (2020-09-01). "Cristian Măcelaru devient le nouveau directeur musical de l'Orchestre national de France". France Musique. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
- ^ Aude Giger (2022-09-16). "Cristian Măcelaru est reconduit jusqu'en 2027 à la tête de l'Orchestre national de France". France Musique (Radio France). Retrieved 2022-09-21.
External links
- Official website (in French)