Orchestre de Paris – Philharmonie

The Orchestre de Paris — Philharmonie was founded in 1967 as the successor to the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, which had shaped musical life in the French capital since 1828. The first music director was Charles Münch, after whose death in November 1968 Herbert von Karajan took over responsibility for two years as “conseiller musical.” The orchestra has since then been led by a number of star conductors, including Sir Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, Semyon Bychkov, Christoph Eschenbach, Paavo Järvi, and Daniel Harding. Klaus Mäkelä has held the position of Chief Conductor since 2021. In the 2024-25 season, he performed a wide repertoire in Paris, ranging from Bach to Boulez. The Orchestre de Paris, which has been based at the Jean Nouvel-designed Paris Philharmonic since 2015, currently has 119 musicians. The orchestra performs around 100 concerts per season, in addition to international guest performances. These have taken the orchestra to the USA, Latin America, Asia, and across Europe. Alongside the French repertoire of the 19th and 20th centuries, contemporary music plays an important role in the programming, whether in cycles of works by Messiaen or Dutilleux or in presenting world premieres. The Orchestre de Paris is deeply committed to education and, in particular, to projects for young people. For this reason, it offers special events for school classes, families, and disadvantaged groups who would otherwise have no access to music, both in the Philharmonie de Paris and throughout the city and its suburbs.

Lucerne Festival (IMF) debut on 8 September 1977, when Daniel Barenboim led a program of works by Sibelius, Debussy, and Berlioz.

April 2025