The orchestra from yesterday to today

The Orchestre national de Lyon in brief

1905 : SOCIÉTÉ DES GRANDS CONCERTS DE LYON

Following the success of a choral society, a Schola Cantorum founded with Charles Bordes in 1903 along similar lines to its sister establishment in Paris, Georges Martin Witkowski founds in 1905 the Société des Grands Concerts de Lyon, ancestor of the Orchestre national de Lyon.

1938 : ASSOCIATION PHILHARMONIQUE

In 1938, Georges Martin Witkowski led a merger with the Trigentuor, an ensemble of 30 musicians founded in 1925. The new orchestra called itself the Association philharmonique de Lyon.

1969: OPRAL, THE FIRST PERMANENT ORCHESTRA

In 1969, a permanent orchestra is set up in Lyon. The Société philharmonique serves as the nucleus of the new orchestra, named the Opral, for “Orchestre philharmonique Rhône-Alpes”.

1971 : SERGE BAUDO AND THE ORCHESTRE DE LYON

In 1971, Louis Frémaux left Lyon for the United Kingdom. Serge Baudo agreed to conduct the Opral.

1984 : ORCHESTRE NATIONAL DE LYON

In 1984, on its 15th anniversary, the orchestra was awarded the label of “national orchestra”, confirming its exclusive status as a symphony orchestra and recognising its excellence and its ambassadorial role in the Rhône-Alpes region, throughout France and abroad.

1987 : Emmanuel Krivine

Emmanuel Krivine succeeded Serge Baudo on 1 October 1987 and remained at the orchestra’s head until 21 July 2000.

2000 : DAVID ROBERTSON

On 18 December 1998, the Mayor of Lyon, Raymond Barre, announced the appointment of David Robertson with effect from 1 September 2000. 

2005 : Jun Märkl

David Robertson left the Orchestre national de Lyon in 2004 for the St. Louis Orchestra in Missouri. Jun Märkl was appointed to succeed him from September 2005. 

2011 : Leonard Slatkin

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider became the seventh music director of the Orchestre national de Lyon (ONL) in September 2020 : a landmark in a prominent international career that in recent years has seen the violinist also take on the role of conductor.

Les œuvres créées par l’ONL