Ernst van Tiel with Orchestre national de Lyon

The Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL) is a French

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

based in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

. Its primary concert venue is l'Auditorium de Lyon. The orchestra operates with the help of a subsidy from the French Ministry of Culture and from the Rhône-Alpes regional council. The current general director of the orchestra is Aline Sam-Giao.

History

The orchestra's precursor was the Société des Grands Concerts de Lyon, which Georges Martin Witkowski established in 1905. Witkowski directed the society's concerts from 1905 to 1943. His son, Jean Witkowski, succeeded him from 1943 to 1953. In 1969, the city of Lyon formally organised an orchestra for the city, with the initial name of ''l'Orchestre Philharmonique Rhône-Alpes''.

Louis Frémaux Louis Joseph Félix Frémaux (13 August 1921 – 20 March 2017) was a French conductor. Life and career Frémaux was born in Aire-sur-la-Lys, France and came from an artistic background; his father was a painter, and his wife was a music teac ...

was the first music director of the orchestra, from 1969 to 1971.

Serge Baudo Serge Baudo (born 16 July 1927) is a French conductor, the son of the oboist Étienne Baudo. He is the nephew of the cellist Paul Tortelier. Baudo was conductor of the Orchestra of Radio Nice from 1959 to 1962. He then served as permanent conduct ...

then became music director in 1971. During his tenure, the orchestra took up residence at l'Auditorium de Lyon, in 1975. In the 1978-1979 season, Bernard Têtu formed an affiliate chorus for the ONL, which took on the name of ''Choeur de l'Orchestre national de Lyon'' with the subsequent renaming of the orchestra. In 1993, the ONL chorus was renamed the ''Choeurs et Solistes de Lyon-Bernard Têtu'', and continues to collaborate regularly with the ONL. In 1983, the orchestra was renamed ''l'Orchestre National de Lyon'', its current name. Baudo concluded his tenure with the ONL in 1986.

Emmanuel Krivine Emmanuel Krivine (born 7 May 1947, Grenoble) is a French conductor. Biography The son of a Polish mother and a Russian father, Krivine studied the violin as a youth. He was a winner of the ''Premier Prix'' at the Paris Conservatoire, at age 16. ...

then served as music director from 1987 to 2000. The American conductor David Robertson was ONL music director from 2000 to 2004, and concurrently the artistic director of l'Auditorium de Lyon, the first person to hold both posts simultaneously. Robertson conducted the ONL's first appearance at

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

in August 2002. From 2005 to 2011,

Jun Märkl Jun Märkl (born 11 February 1959 in Munich) is a German conductor. Biography Born to a Japanese pianist mother and a German violinist father, Märkl studied piano and the violin as a youth. Beginning in 1978 at the Musikhochschule Hannover he co ...

was the ONL's music director. The most recent music director was

Leonard Slatkin Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer. Early life and education Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...

from 2011 through 2017. Slatkin now has the title of ''Directeur musical honoraire'' of the ONL. In December 2017, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider first guest-conducted the ONL. In December 2018, the ONL announced the appointment of Szeps-Znaider as its next music director, effective September 2020, with an initial contract of four seasons. The orchestra has recorded for several labels, including the following: * harmonia mundi (Baudo, music of Henri Dutilleux) * naïve (Robertson, music of

Alberto Ginastera Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentinian composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography Ginastera was born in Buenos ...

and

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, ...

) * Naxos (Märkl, music of

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

and

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

; Slatkin, music of Ravel and of Saint-Saëns) * Altus (Märkl, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 and Mahler Symphony No. 3, recorded live) Another affiliated ensemble with the ONL is the ''Ensemble de Cuivres et Percussions de l'ONL'' (literal translation: Brass and Percussion Ensemble of the ONL), formed by tubist Christian Delange and 11 musicians of the ONL.

Music directors

(1969–1971) *

(1971–1986) *

(1987–2000) * David Robertson (2000–2004) *

(2005–2011) *

(2011–2017) * Nikolai Szeps-Znaider (2020-present)

Composers-in-residence

* Michael Jarrell (1991–1993) *

Pascal Dusapin Pascal Georges Dusapin (born 29 May 1955) is a French composer. His music is marked by its microtonality, tension, and energy. A pupil of Iannis Xenakis and Franco Donatoni and an admirer of Varèse, Dusapin studied at the University of Pari ...

(1993–1995) * Jean-Louis Florentz (1995–1997) * Philippe Hersant (1998–2000) * Thierry Escaich (2007–2010)

References

External links

Official French-language webpage of the ONL

{{Authority control French orchestras Musical groups established in 1905 Culture in Lyon 1905 establishments in France Musical groups from Lyon