Orchestre National de France
The Orchestre National de France has been associated with French national radio broadcasting for much of its career. It also lives up to its name, giving concerts around France in addition to those at its home venues in Paris.
The Orchestre National de France, or ONF, was founded in 1934 by Radio France as the Orchestre National, giving its first concert at the Paris Conservatory. Its first conductor was Désiré-Emile Inghelbrecht. In 1939, many of the orchestra's musicians were conscripted into the French army. The rest of the group moved to the city of Rennes but disbanded when that city was bombed. The orchestra was reconstituted in Marseilles by the collaborationist Vichy government in 1941; Jewish musicians were banned. The orchestra returned to Paris in 1943 and the following year, gave its first concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, where it continues to perform today. It also appears at the Salle Olivier Messiaen at the Maison de Radio France. All of the group's roughly 70 annual concerts are broadcast on the French national radio network ORTF. The orchestra has changed its name several times. When independent French radio was reestablished in 1945, it became the Orchestre national de la Radiodiffusion française, and in 1949 the Orchestre national de la Radio-télévision française or Orchestre national de la RTF. In 1964, the group took on the cumbersome name of Orchestre national de l'Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française or Orchestre national de l'ORTF, shortened in 1975 to the present name. Manuel Rosenthal replaced Inghelbrecht in 1944, and after the war, he restored French and contemporary programming that had been banned under German rule. Major conductors have included Jean Martinon (1968-1973), Lorin Maazel (1988-1990), Charles Dutoit (1991-2001), Kurt Masur (2002-2007), Daniele Gatti (2008-2016), Emmanuel Krivine (2017-2020), and, as of 2020, Cristian Măcelaru. The group has spent considerable periods without a chief conductor, and during those times has attracted an A-list of international guest conductors that included Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, and Georg Solti. Guest soloists have been similarly prestigious, with Martha Argerich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Yo-Yo Ma numbered among them.
The ONF has recorded prolifically for Erato, EMI, Naïve, and other labels. The group has often premiered and recorded contemporary French works but also issues recordings of the standard repertory, not all of it French. In the late 2010s, the orchestra moved to Erato partner Warner Classics, issuing a recording of Alexandre Desplat's Airlines in 2020.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Weber - Beethoven - Chabrier, Concert du 15/05/1958, Orchestre national et choeurs de la RTF, D.E. Inghelbrecht (dir), Y. Guller (piano), B. Demigny (bar)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Désiré Emile Inghelbrecht
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on May 1, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky & Liszt: Orchestral Works
Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Pierre Dervaux, Gyorgy Cziffra
Classical - Released by Archipel on Aug 12, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14, H. 48
Orchestre National de France, Thomas Beecham
Classical - Released by Archipel on Jul 23, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande
Jacques Jansen, Victoria de los Angeles, Orchestre National de France
Classical - Released by Past Classics on Jan 1, 1957
Stereophile: Record To Die For16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
P. le Flem - B. Britten - G. Petrassi, Orchestre National de la RTF, Concert du 15/12/1952, Jean Martinon (dir), Denise Soriano (violoniste)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Jean Martinon
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on May 1, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Piano Concertos/Pavane/Jeux d'eau/La Valse
Jean-Philippe Collard, Orchestre National de France, Lorin Maazel
Chamber Music - Released by Warner Classics on Jul 27, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Enescu: Symphonies Nos. 1-3; 2 Romanian Rhapsodies
Orchestre National de France, Cristian Măcelaru
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Apr 12, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Messiaen: Turangalîla-symphonie
Yvonne Loriod, Maurice Le Roux, Orchestre National de France, Jeanne Loriod
Classical - Released by Universal Music Division Decca Records France on Jan 18, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alice & Merveilles
Juliette Roudet, Orchestre National de France, Maîtrise de Radio France
Stories and Nursery Rhymes - Released by Didier Jeunesse on Nov 2, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Fantasy on Hungarian Themes, S. 123 (Live Recording, Lausanne 1969)
Gyorgy Cziffra, György Cziffra Jr., Orchestre National de France
Concertos - Released by Claves Records on May 1, 2020
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov
Boris Christoff, Nicolai Gedda, Eugenia Zareska, Kim Borg, Orchestre National de France, Issay Dobrowen
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jun 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Klavierkonzerte/La valse u.a.
Jean-Philippe Collard, Orchestre National de France, Lorin Maazel
Chamber Music - Released by Warner Classics on Jul 27, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bartok - V. d'Indy - Canteloube, Concert du 04/07/1957, Orchestre National de la RTF, D.E Ingelbrecht (dir)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Désiré Emile Inghelbrecht
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Oct 1, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven - Stravinski - Haendel, Concert du 22/03/1956, Orchestre National, Jean Martinon (dir), V. Perlemuter (piano)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Jean Martinon
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Aug 3, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven & Vieuxtemps: Violin Concertos
David Oïstrakh, Leonid Kogan, Orchestre National de France, The Ussr State Symphony Orchestra, André Cluytens, Kirill Kondrashin
Classical - Released by Russian Compact Disc on Jul 17, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Weber - Beethoven - Mozart - Ibert, Concert du 08/12/1955, Orchestre National, André Cluytens (dir), C. Haskil (piano)
Orchestre national de la RTF and André Cluytens
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Aug 3, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 (Live Recording, Lausanne 1975)
Concertos - Released by Claves Records on Jan 26, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Harold en Italie & 3 Ouvertures
Leonard Bernstein, André Previn, Donald McInnes, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on May 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kalabis - Poulenc - Stravinski, Concert du 11/03/1957, Orchestre National de la RTF, Manuel Rosenthal(dir), G. Moizan (s) et J. Neilz (violoncelle)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Manuel Rosenthal
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on May 1, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Conte pour enfants - Britten: Variations et fugue sur un thème de Purcell
Lorin Maazel, Orchestre National de France
Classical - Released by Universal Music Division Decca Records France on May 1, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 in G minor, "The Year 1905", Op. 103
Classical - Released by Past Classics on Jul 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo