French National Orchestra

The Orchestre national de France (ONF; literal translation, National Orchestra of France) is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since 1975), the ONF performs mainly in the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées from where all its concerts are broadcast. Some concerts are also held in the Salle Olivier Messiaen in the Maison de Radio France (formerly known as Maison de la Radio).

The orchestra has had several names over its history:

The orchestra was founded as the Orchestre national by decree on 18 February 1934, by the French minister of Posts Jean Mistler, as an ensemble of 80 musicians, with Désiré-Emile Inghelbrecht as musical director. The orchestra musicians were under exclusive engagements, prohibiting them to play with other orchestras as the orchestra of the Opera. Their first concert occurred at the Conservatoire de Paris on 13 March 1934. The main conductors in the orchestra's early years were Inghelbrecht, Roger Désormière and Eugène Bigot, as well as Inghelrecht's assistant conductor at the time, Manuel Rosenthal.

In 1939, half of the musicians were mobilized in the French army. The other half of the orchestra settled in Rennes between 26 October 1939 and 16 June 1940, when bombings on the city forced the orchestra to be disbanded. The Vichy government then recreated the orchestra in March 1941. The orchestra was based in Marseilles, without Jewish musicians, who were excluded (among them Clara Haskil's sister, the violinist Jeanne Haskil). The orchestra returned to Paris on 1 March 1943. Since 1944, the orchestra has been based in the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, where it occasionally plays in the pit for opera productions.

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