The Colonne Orchestra is a French symphony orchestra, founded in 1873 by the violinist and conductor Édouard Colonne.

History

While

leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

of the

Opéra de Paris The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

orchestra, Édouard Colonne was engaged by the publisher Georges Hartmann to lead a series of popular concerts which he founded under the title of ‘Concert National’ in March 1873.''Cinquante Ans de Musique Française de 1874 à 1925.'' Les Éditions Musicales de la Librairie de France, Paris, 1925. While at first a great success, the financial burden forced Hartmann to withdraw from the enterprise. However, Colonne then decided to form his own orchestra, ‘l’Association artistique des Concerts Colonne’ based at the Théâtre du Châtelet in November 1873. The Concerts Colonne placed particular emphasis on contemporary music of the time such as ( Saint-Saëns, Massenet, Charpentier, Fauré, d'Indy,

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 influe ...

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

, Widor, Enescu, Dukas and Chabrier), alongside which were programmed

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

and

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

. Colonne and his orchestra were central to reviving and sustaining interest in the music of Berlioz after his death; following a 1877 concert performance of '' La Damnation de Faust'' at the Chatelet it became a permanent part of the orchestra's repertoire, played 117 times by the time of the composer's centenary in 1903, as well as other works by him. Under Colonne the orchestra mainly played French and German works; Colonne conducted the large majority of concerts with occasional guest conductors such as Felix Mottl, Hans Richter, and

Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungary, Hungarian conducting, conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter ...

. In April 1910

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

gave the French premiere of his second symphony at the Théâtre du Châtelet.Canarina, John. ''Pierre Monteux, Maître.'' Amadeus Press, Pompton Plains, New Jersey, 2003, p23. Among the principals under Colonne was

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in 1 ...

, leader of the violas from 1893. As well as Mahler, Peter Tchaikovsky,

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 influe ...

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

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

, Gabriel Pierne, and

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

conducted their music with the orchestra over the years. For his

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...

, the impresario Diaghilev engaged an orchestra in each city his company was visiting; in Paris it was the Colonne, which thus after the death of its founder played for the premieres of ballets such as '' L'Oiseau de feu'' (1910), Petrushka (1911), '' Afternoon of a Faun'' (1912), Daphnis et Chloé (1912), Jeux (1913) and '' Le Sacre du printemps'' (1913). Even after the departure of its founder the orchestra championed new music, with 22 premieres in the 1923–24 season. State subsidies for orchestras had begun in France in 1897; by 1929 the Concerts Colonne were receiving 75,000 francs a year, the same as the Lamoureux, with other Parisian formations receiving less. Notable premieres given by the Colonne include Saint-Saëns ''

Danse macabre The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory from the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of death, summoning represen ...

'' 1875, Chausson ''Soir de Fête'' 1898, Enesco ''Poème roumain'' 1898, and Symphony No.1 1906, d'Indy ''Jour d'été à la montagne'' 1906, Ravel '' Une barque sur l'océan'' 1907 and '' Rapsodie espagnole'' 1908, Ibert ''La ballade de la geôle de Reading'' 1922, Debussy '' Khamma'' 1924, Mihalovici ''Capriccio roumain'' 1937, Bondeville ''Symphonie chorégraphique'' 1965.

Musical directors

* Édouard Colonne (1873–1910) *

Gabriel Pierné Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné (16 August 1863 – 17 July 1937) was a French composer, conductor, pianist and organist. Biography Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz. His family moved to Paris, after Metz and part of Lorraine were annexed to Germ ...

(1910–1932) * Paul Paray (1932–1956) * Charles Münch (1956–1958) * Pierre Dervaux (1958–1992) * Antonello Allemandi (1992–1997) *

Laurent Petitgirard Laurent Petitgirard (born 10 June 1950, in Paris) is a French classical composer and conductor. Biography Laurent Petitgirard was born in Paris on 10 June 1950. He studied piano with his father Serge Petitgirard, a pupil of Alfred Cortot and ...

(from 2004) * Marc Korovitch (from 2022)

Recordings

The Colonne orchestra was one of the first orchestras to embark on a series of sound recordings when from 1908-09 Colonne himself went into the studio, leading to 20 discs with the orchestra for

Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...

in Paris into the 1920s. A second period of recording for the orchestra occurred from 1928 to 1931 under Pierné amounting to 148 78 sides, encompassing French, Russian and German repertoire. In 1938

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

recorded the Mendelssohn violin concerto and Wieniawski Légende with Enescu conducting the Colonne Orchestra, and during the war

Roger Désormière Roger Désormière () (13 September 1898 – 25 October 1963) was a French conducting, conductor. He was an enthusiastic champion of contemporary composers, but also conducted performances of early eighteenth century French music. Life and career ...

set down contemporaray French works by Messaien, Delvincourt, Barraud and Delannoy. After '' La Péri'' and the

Symphonie fantastique ' (''Fantastic Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections'') Opus number, Op. 14, is a program music, programmatic symphony written by Hector Berlioz in 1830. The first performance was at the Paris Conservatoire on 5 December ...

from Paray in 1949 and 1951, the main conductor of the remaining records was Jean Fournet, with 28 discs between 1947 and 1951.Morin, Philippe. L'orchestre Colonne et le disque 78 tours. Essay in booklet accompanying Cascavelle CD Vel 3066, 2003.

References

External links

Association artistique des Concerts Colonne
{{Authority control Orchestras in Paris Musical groups established in 1873 1873 establishments in France