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.
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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
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on May 1, 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
Classical - Released by Urania Records on Jul. 3, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Concerti pour piccolo
Jean-Louis Beaumadier, Philippe Pierlot, Orchestre National de France
Classical - Released by Saphir Productions on Dec. 3, 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 Jan. 1, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Festival de Strasbourg, Prokoviev - Ravel - Tchaikovsky - Mozart - Bach, Concert du 01/06/1959, Orchestre National de la RTF, Ernest Bour (dir), David Oistrakh (violon)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Ernest Bour featuring David Oistrakh
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Nov. 22, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No.6
Orchestre National de France, Daniele Gatti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan. 1, 2008
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
Classical - Released by IDIS on Aug. 25, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Loucheur: Rapsodie malgache & Hop-Frog (Mono Version)
Orchestre National de France, Georges Tzipine
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Symphonie No. 8 "Inachevée" & Rosamunde, extraits (Mono Version)
Orchestre National de France, Edouard Lindenberg
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 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
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on Feb. 1, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ouvertures de Berlioz (Stereo Version)
André Cluytens, Orchestre National de France
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Charles Münch conducts Ropartz (Paris 1946. Charles Münch Edition, Volume 2)
Charles Munch, Orchestre National de France
Classical - Released by XXI Music on Jun. 22, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonie No. 6 "Pastorale" (Mono Version)
Paul Kletzki, Orchestre National de France
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Tosca
Orchestre National de France, Mstislav Rostropovich
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan. 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jacques Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann
Orchestre National de France, Seiji Ozawa
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan. 1, 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
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1954
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Jacques Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Highlights)
Orchestre National de France, Seiji Ozawa
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan. 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 101 & 102 (Mono Version)
Orchestre National de France, Igor Markevitch
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Milhaud: La Création du monde, Saudades do Brasil, Le Boeuf sur le toit
Leonard Bernstein, Orchestre National de France
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jul. 30, 1987
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen (Highlights)
Jessye Norman, Mirella Freni, Neil Shicoff, R.T.F. Choeur De Radio France, Orchestre National de France, Seiji Ozawa
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jul. 27, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Symphonie No. 4 "Italienne" - Schubert: Symphonie No. 8 "Inachevée" (Mono Version)
Orchestre National de France, Igor Markevitch
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo