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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Mendelssohn - Schumann - Pierné - Loucheur, Concert du 04/04/1955, Orchestre National, Pierre Dervaux (dir), Y. Lefébure (piano)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Pierre Dervaux
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Aug 3, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Swan Lake (Lac de Cygnes) Opus 20
Classical - Released by Past Classics on Mar 4, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richter Archives, Vol. 11: Concertos with Maazel
Sviatoslav Richter, Lorin Maazel, Orchestre National de France, Unknown Artist
Classical - Released by DOREMI on Jan 9, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Martinon Conducts Prokofiev & Varèse (Live) [Remastered 2022]
Orchestre National de France, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Jean Martinon
Classical - Released by Urania Records on Sep 23, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Festival de Montreux, Debussy - Mendhelssohn - Tchaikovski, Concert du 24/09/1957, Orchestre National de la RTF, Paul Kletzki (dir), Y. Menuhin (violon)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Paul Kletzki
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Oct 1, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimski-Korsakov - Prokofiev - Stravinski - Tchaïkovski, Orchestre national de la RTF, Concert du 08/05/1958, Pierre Monteux (dir)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Pierre Monteux
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Feb 1, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven - Chopin - Rolland-Manuel, Concert du 22/04/1954, Orchestre National, André Cluytens (dir)
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 -
Brahms - Hindemith - Mozart, Festival de Montreux, Concert du 22/09/1957, Orchestre national de la RTF, P. Hindemith (dir), C. Haskil (piano)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Paul Hindemith
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on May 1, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss - Poulenc - Prokofiev - Sancan, Concert du 02/02/1956, Orchestre National de la RTF, Manuel Rosenthal (dir), Pierre Sancan (piano)
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 -
Johannes Brahms, Orchestre National de la RTF, Concert du 06/10/1961, Witold Rowicki (dir), Sviatoslav Richter (piano)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Witold Rowicki
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Nov 22, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Festival de Montreux, Weber - Brahms - Tchaikovski - M. de Falla, Concert du 25/09/1958, Orchestre National, Igor Markevitch (dir), C. Arrau (piano)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Igor Markevitch
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Oct 1, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovski - Chopin - Scriabine, Concert du 24/11/1955, Orchestre National, Paul Kletzki (dir), S. François (piano)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Paul Kletzki
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Aug 3, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Maurice Ravel: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 - Daphnis et Chloe
Orchestre National de France, Choeur de Radio France, Eliahu Inbal
Classical - Released by Savoy Jazz on Aug 30, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 (Live)
Choeur de la RTF, Heinz Rehfuss, Elfriede Trötschel, Orchestre National de France, Carl Schuricht
Classical - Released by Archipel on Oct 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart - Debussy - Fauré, Concert du 30/12/1954, Orchestre national, D.E. Inghelbrecht (dir)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Désiré Emile Inghelbrecht
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Aug 3, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concert Beethoven, Concert du 18/09/1958, Orchestre National de la RTF, Joseph Krips (dir), Isaac Stern
Orchestre national de la RTF and Joseph Krips
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Oct 1, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn, Schumann & Bizet: Orchestral Works (Live)
Henryk Szeryng, Maurice Gendron, Orchestre National de France, André Cluytens
Classical - Released by Archipel on May 25, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berg & Schoenberg : Altenberglieder Op. 4 - Verklärte Nacht Chamber - Symphony No. 1
Írma Kolássi, Jascha Horenstein, Orchestre National de France, Orchestra of the Southwest German Radio (SWDR)
Classical - Released by Infinity on Jan 6, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart - Ravel - Weber - Tchaikovski, Concert du 15/09/1951, Orchestre National de la RTF, Ernest Bour (dir)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Ernest Bour
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on May 1, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart - Wagner - Brahms, Orchestre National de la RTF, Concert du 05/05/1955, Bruno Walter (dir)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Bruno Walter
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Feb 1, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
C. P. E. Bach - L. van Beethoven - J. Brahms, Concert du 25/09/1962, Orchestre National de la RTF, Joseph Keilberth (dir), Whilhelm Backhaus (piano)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Joseph Keilberth
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Nov 22, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo