Orchestre de Paris

Orchestre de Paris
Orchestra

Official logo
Founded 1967
Concert hall Salle Pleyel
Principal conductor Paavo Järvi
Website www.orchestredeparis.com

The Orchestre de Paris (French pronunciation: ​[ɔʁkɛstʁ də paʁi]) is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra currently performs most of its concerts at the Salle Pleyel.

History

In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, the French Minister of Culture, André Malraux, and his director of music, Marcel Landowski, engaged conductor Charles Munch to create a new orchestra in Paris.[1] Soon after its creation, Munch died in 1968, and Herbert von Karajan was hired as an interim music advisor from 1969 to 1971. Successive music directors include Sir Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, and Semyon Bychkov. Christoph von Dohnányi served as artistic advisor from 1998-2000.

During his tenure, Barenboim saw a need for a permanent chorus for the orchestra, and engaged the English chorus master Arthur Oldham to create the Chœur de l'Orchestre de Paris (Chorus of the Orchestre de Paris) in 1976. Oldham remained with the Chorus till his retirement in 2002. From 2002 to 2011, Didier Bouture and Geoffroy Jourdain shared direction of the Chorus, which is now run by Lionel Sow.

Christoph Eschenbach was music director from 2000 to 2010. He conducted recordings of music of Luciano Berio,[2] Marc-André Dalbavie,[3] and Albert Roussel[4][5] with the orchestra. In May 2007, Paavo Järvi was named the orchestra's sixth music director, effective with the 2010-2011 season.[6] Järvi is scheduled to conclude his tenure with the Orchestre de Paris at the conclusion of his current contract, at the end of the summer of 2016.[7]

In 1998, Crédit Lyonnais, which had control of the Salle Pleyel, sold the hall to the French businessman Hubert Martigny. The Salle Pleyel was closed in 2002, which left the orchestra without a resident hall. The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Théâtre du Châtelet both presented the orchestra during the 2001-2002 season. By the fall of 2002, the orchestra had secured the Théâtre Mogador, where it played its next four seasons. In 2003, the French government secured a new arrangement whereby Martigny would pay for renovations to the Salle Pleyel, and rent the hall to the Cité de la Musique, which would then be scheduled to purchase the hall in the year 2056. After renovations, the Salle Pleyel reopened in September 2006 and became once more the Orchestre de Paris's home base.[8] The orchestra is scheduled to take up residence at the new Philharmonie de Paris, near the Cité de la Musique in the Parc de la Villette,[9] after the scheduled opening of the hall in January 2015.[7]

Music directors

Pop charts

The Orchestre de Paris found itself in an unusual situation in 1989, when its performance of Ravel's Boléro became a hit on the Dutch pop chart. The recording, made in 1982 under the direction of Daniel Barenboim, was released as a CD-single to coincide with the success of the song "No more boleros" by the Dutch pop singer Gerard Joling, which included parts of the Ravel work. With its playing time of 17 minutes, the Orchestre de Paris single remains the longest recording ever in the Dutch Top 40.

References

  1. ↑ Holoman, D. Kern, Charles Munch. Oxford University Press (ISBN 978-0-19-977270-4), p. 211 (2012).
  2. ↑ Andrew Clements (2005-08-05). "Berio: Stanze; Rendering, Henschel/ French Army Chorus/ Orchestre de Paris/ Eschenbach". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  3. ↑ Andrew Clements (2005-04-01). "Dalbavie: Color; Violin Concerto; Ciaccona, Chijiiwa/ Orchestre de Paris/ Eschenbach". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  4. ↑ Tim Ashley (2006-05-05). "Roussel: Symphony No 2; Bacchus et Ariane, Orchestre de Paris/ Eschenbach". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  5. ↑ Tim Ashley (2008-04-18). "Roussel: Symphony No 3; Le Festin de l'Araignée, Orchestre de Paris/ Eschenbach". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  6. ↑ Westphal, Matthew (31 May 2007). "Paavo Järvi to Succeed Christoph Eschenbach at Helm of Orchestre de Paris". Playbill Arts. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 George Loomis (2014-08-28). "France’s New Music Temple". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-08-30.
  8. ↑ Alan Riding (2006-09-23). "After Much Retuning, a Concert Hall Is Reborn". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  9. ↑ Alan Riding (2007-04-14). "Building a Paris Hall Around Its Audience". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-17.

External links