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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Debussy: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1. La Mer, Nocturnes, Images, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune & Jeux
Orchestre National de France, Jean Martinon
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 mei 1998
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Transcriptions
Leopold Stokowski Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Symphony of the Air, Léopold Stokowski
Klassiek - Released by Urania Records on 3 jul. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Concerti pour piccolo
Jean-Louis Beaumadier, Philippe Pierlot, Orchestre National de France
Klassiek - Released by Saphir Productions on 3 dec. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Honegger : Jeanne d'Arc au Bûcher
Orchestre National de France, Marie-Claude Vallin
Sacred Oratorios - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concerto in Re maggiore op. 77 per violino e orchestra
David Oïstrakh, Otto Klemperer, Orchestre National de France
Symfonische muziek - Released by La Bambolina sas on 23 feb. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saens/Respighi: Violin Concerto No.3/Concerto Gregoriano
Pierre Amoyal, Charles Dutoit, Orchestre National de France
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 jan. 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No.6
Orchestre National de France, Daniele Gatti
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 jan. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn - Beethoven - Schumann, Concert du 02/05/1957, Orchestre national de la RTF, Paul Paray (dir)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Paul Paray
Klassiek - Released by Ina, musique(s) on 1 mei 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Boulez Conducts Stravinsky
Orchestre National de France, French Radio and Television Chorus, Johanna Peters, Pierre Boulez, Herbert Handt, Sebastian Shaw
Klassiek - Released by IDIS on 25 aug. 2017
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Prokofiev - Liszt - Debussy - Ravel, Concert du 09/05/1957, Orchestre National de la RTF, Paul Paray (dir), S. François (piano)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Paul Paray
Klassiek - Released by Ina, musique(s) on 1 okt. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Loucheur: Rapsodie malgache & Hop-Frog (Mono Version)
Orchestre National de France, Georges Tzipine
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1957
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Debussy - Messiaen - Gershwin - Ravel, XIVème Festival de besaonçon, Concert du 13/09/1961, Orchestre national de la RTF, Georges Prêtre (dir), D. Wayenberg (p)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Georges Prêtre
Klassiek - Released by Ina, musique(s) on 1 mei 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Symphonie No. 8 "Inachevée" & Rosamunde, extraits (Mono Version)
Orchestre National de France, Edouard Lindenberg
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1953
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Concert Louis Aubert, Orchestre National de la RTF, Concert du 08/03/1956, Georges Tzipine (dir)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Georges Tzipine
Klassiek - Released by Ina, musique(s) on 1 feb. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ouvertures de Berlioz (Stereo Version)
André Cluytens, Orchestre National de France
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Charles Münch conducts Ropartz (Paris 1946. Charles Münch Edition, Volume 2)
Charles Munch, Orchestre National de France
Klassiek - Released by XXI Music on 22 jun. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonie No. 6 "Pastorale" (Mono Version)
Paul Kletzki, Orchestre National de France
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Tosca
Orchestre National de France, Mstislav Rostropovich
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jacques Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann
Orchestre National de France, Seiji Ozawa
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet, Guiraud: Suites de L'Arlésienne, extraits - Scènes bohémiennes (Mono Version)
Orchestre National de France, André Cluytens
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1954
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Jacques Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Highlights)
Orchestre National de France, Seiji Ozawa
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo