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

History

While leader 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 b ...

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 ( Saint-Saëns, Massenet, Charpentier, Fauré,

d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the P ...

, Debussy, Ravel, Widor,

Enescu Enescu is a Romanian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adrian Enescu (1948–2016), Romanian composer *Andrei Enescu (born 1987), Romanian footballer * George Enescu (1881–1955), Romanian classical violinist, pianist and composer ...

, Dukas and Chabrier). Alongside these were programmed Wagner and

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

, and Colonne revived the music of

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

such as '' La Damnation de Faust'', which was performed 172 times up to the First World War.

Gustav 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 ...

Peter Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

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

, Edvard Grieg,

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 ...

Gabriel Pierne In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

, and Prokofiev conducted their music with the orchestra over the years. Even after the departure of its founder the orchestra championed new music, with 22 premieres in the 1923–24 season.Nichols R. ''The Harlequin Years; Music in Paris 1917–1929.'' Thames & Hudson, London, 2002. A recent musical director, Laurent Petitgirard, had his contract renewed until 2014. From 2016 the orchestra used the 1865 Salle Wagram, then equipped for 800 spectators, for its orchestral concerts.Fauchet, Benoît. Wagram – nouvelle bataille. (Report.) '' Diapason'', September 2016, No649. p10.

Musical directors

* Édouard Colonne (1873–1910) * Gabriel Pierné (1910–1932) * Paul Paray (1932–1956) * Charles Münch (1956–1958) * Pierre Dervaux (1958–1992) * Antonello Allemandi (1992–1997) * Laurent Petitgirard (from 2004)

References

External links

Association artistique des Concerts Colonne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orchestra, Colonne French orchestras Musical groups established in 1873 1873 establishments in France Musical groups from Paris