About the French National Orchestra:
The French National Orchestra was established in 1934 under the auspices of Radio France, becoming the first permanent symphony orchestra in France.
Désité Emile Inghelbrecht, the first resident conductor, established the musical tradition for the orchestra. He chose the works of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel to constitute the bulk of the repertoire. After the war, Manuel Rosenthal, André Cluytens, Roger Désormière, Charles Munch, Maurice Le Roux and Jean Martinon carried on the tradition.
In 1975, Lorin Maazel succeeded Sergiu Celibidache as principal guest conductor of the orchestra, and subsequently became music director of the orchestra. From 1989 to 1998, Jeffrey Tate was the principal guest conductor. From 1991 to 2001, Charles Dutoit acted as the music director. In September 2002, he was succeeded by Kurt Masur, who had worked for ten years as the music director of New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
Every year, the French National Orchestra presents about 70 performances at famous concert halls in Paris, France, and many other places across the world. For many years, the orchestra has forged deep friendships with many world famous conductors.
The French National Orchestra has had the honor of featuring the first public performances of many major works of the 20th Century. These include Soleil des Eaux by Pierre Boulez (1950), the Turangalîla-Symphony of Olivier Messiaen (first performance in France, 1950), Jonchaies by Iannis Xenakis (1977), as well as multiple works by Henri Dutilleux: Symphony No. 1 (1951), Timbres, Espace, Mouvement (1978), and the violin concerto L’Arbre des Songes (1985, with Isaac Stern as soloist).
The French National Orchestra has recorded a large number of high-quality albums. The works recorded after Kurt Masur conducted French National Orchestra include Symphony No.2 & 6 of Beethoven, Symphony No.5 of Chaikovsky, and Symphony No.7 of Shostakovich.
In February 2007, the French National Orchestra won the extraordinary Victoire d’honneur.
Programs
January 26, 2010
Beethoven Fidelio Overture
Symphony No.6
Symphony No.7
January 27, 2010
Beethoven Egmont Overture
Symphony No.3
Symphony No.5
Editor: Feng Hui
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