The orchestra has had the following names over its history: • 1934–1945:
Orchestre national (National Orchestra) • 1945–1949:
Orchestre national de la Radiodiffusion française (French Radio National Orchestra) • 1949–1964:
Orchestre national de la Radio-télévision française or
Orchestre national de la RTF (French Radio and Television National Orchestra) • 1964–1974: ''Orchestre national de l'Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française
or Orchestre national de l'ORTF'' (National Orchestra of the French Radio and Television Office) • 1975–present:
Orchestre national de France 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 such as the orchestra of the
Paris 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
Marseille, without Jewish musicians, who were excluded (among them
Clara Haskil's sister, the violinist Jeanne Haskil). Cluytens was noted for his performances of the German repertoire with the orchestra, and led it during tours in the USSR (1959), at the
Salzburg Festival (1959) and in the Middle East (1960).
Daniele Gatti was music director from 2008 to 2016. In June 2016,
Radio France announced the appointment of
Emmanuel Krivine as the ONF's next music director, effective with the 2017–2018 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. He held the title of music director-designate (
directeur musical désigné) for the 2016–2017 season. Krivine had been scheduled to stand down as ONF music director at the close of the 2020-2021 season. However, in May 2020, Krivine resigned from his ONF post with immediate effect, one year ahead of his originally scheduled departure. In September 2018,
Cristian Măcelaru first guest-conducted the ONF, and returned for a second guest-conducting appearance in the summer of 2019. On the basis of these appearances, in November 2019, the ONF announced the appointment of Măcelaru as its next music director, effective 1 September 2021, with an initial contract of 4 years. In September 2022, the ONF announced an extension to Măcelaru's contract as music director through 2027. Măcelaru is scheduled to conclude his tenure with the ONF at the close of the 2026-2027 season. In October 2022,
Philippe Jordan first guest-conducted the ONF. He returned to the ONF for an additional guest-conducting engagement in October 2023. In November 2024, the ONF announced the appointment of Jordan as its next music director, effective with the 2027-2028 season. In addition to commercial recordings for
EMI Records during the years 1960–1980, in the French repertoire, other recordings from the orchestra have been issued by Radio France itself, associated with
Naïve Records. ==Principal conductors and music directors==