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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Schumann: Piano Concerto, Op. 54 - Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 21
Samson François, Orchestre National de France, Paul Kletzki
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Violin Concertos
Sergey Khachatryan, Orchestre National de France, Kurt Masur
Classical - Released by naïve classique on 31 Oct 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Albeniz - Ravel - de Falla - Chabrier - Granados - Debussy, Concert du 19/03/1959, Orchestre national de la RTF, D.E. Inghelbrecht (dir), Conxita Badia (s)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Désiré Emile Inghelbrecht
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on 1 May 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Concerto pour violon, Op. 61 (Stereo Version)
Orchestre National de France, André Cluytens, David Oïstrakh
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Falla: Noches en los jardines de España: II. Danza Lejana
Alexandre Tharaud, Orchestre National de France, Louis Langrée
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 8 Sep 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy : Ouvres orchestrales (II)
Orchestre National de France, Jean Martinon
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 May 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Poulenc: Gloria/Litanies à la Vièrge Noire/Stabat Mater
R.T.F. Choeur De Radio France, R.T.F. Maitrise De Radio France, Orchestre National de France, Charles Dutoit
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach - Beethoven - Brahms, Concert du 27/10/1958, Orchestre National de la RTF, André Cluytens (dir), David Oistrakh (violon)
Orchestre national de la RTF and André Cluytens featuring David Oistrakh
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on 22 Nov 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Concerto pour la main gauche - Debussy: Fantaisie pour piano et orchestre (Mono Version)
Orchestre National de France, Georges Tzipine, Jacques Février
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rudi Stephan: Die ersten Menschen
Orchestre national de France, Mikko Franck, Rudi Stephan
Classical - Released by naïve classique on 24 Mar 2014
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Recorder Concertos, RV 443 - 445 - Telemann: 12 Fantasias for Violin Without Bass, TWV 40:14-25
Jean-Louis Beaumadier, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Orchestre National de France
Classical - Released by Calliope on 1 Jan 2015
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Conductors: Sir Thomas Beecham Conducts Georges Bizet's L'Arlésienne Suites & Symphony in C Major (Remastered 2015)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Thomas Beecham
Classical - Released by Jube Classic on 1 Jan 2016
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Times (Complete Orchestral Works)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Besançon, Orchestre Poitou-Charentes, Orchestre National de France
Classical - Released by AEON on 31 Mar 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Poulenc: Orchestral Works 2
Pascal Rogé, Orchestre National de France, Charles Dutoit
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Milhaud - Stravinski - Chabrier, Orchestre National de la RTF, Concert du 13/12/1955, D. E. Inghelbrecht (dir)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Désiré Emile Inghelbrecht
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on 1 Feb 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven - Satie - Chostakovitch, Concert du 06/01/1955, Orchestre National, I. Markevitch (dir)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Igor Markevitch
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on 3 Aug 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gedda à Paris - Airs d'opéra français chantés en français (Stereo Version)
Nicolai Gedda, Orchestre National de France, Georges Prêtre
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Festival de Salzbourg, W.A. Mozart - J. Haydn, Concert du 01/08/1959, Orchestre National de la RTF, Georg Solti (dir), Sir Clifford Curzon (piano)
Orchestre national de la RTF and Georg Solti
Classical - Released by Ina, musique(s) on 22 Nov 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: La gazza ladra, ouverture (Mono Version)
Igor Markevitch, Orchestre National de France
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14, H. 48
Orchestre National de France, Thomas Beecham
Classical - Released by Archipel on 23 Jul 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10, Op. 93
Orchestre National de France, Kurt Sanderling
Classical - Released by naïve classique on 24 Mar 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo