Orchestre de chambre de Paris

The Orchestre de Chambre de Paris ("Paris Chamber Orchestra") is one of Europe's top small orchestras and a rare example of one that has achieved gender parity. The orchestra is notable for performing in venues not often associated with classical music. The Orchestre de Chambre de Paris (OCP) was formed in 1978 as the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris; the current name was adopted in 2012 in recognition of the orchestra's orientation toward music for small orchestra. The group has about 40 permanent members. It was formed at the behest of the city of Paris by composer Marcel Landowski, actor Roland Bourdin, and conductor Jean-Pierre Wallez; Wallez served as the group's first music director, remaining in the post until 1986 and also taking the role of first solo violinist. He was succeeded by Armin Jordan from 1986 to 1992, Jean-Jacques Kantorow from 1994 to 1998, and John Nelson from 1998 to 2009. Joseph Swensen followed from 2009 to 2012, and he was followed by Thomas Zehetmair from 2012 to 2014. The orchestra has also played host to many guest conductors, including Thomas Dausgaard and Trevor Pinnock. Zehetmair led the group on a 2013 recording for the Mirare label of violin-and-orchestra works by Fauré and Saint-Saëns, featuring violinist Deborah Nemtanu, and he released several recordings with the group on Naïve. Zehetmair was succeeded by Douglas Boyd from 2015 to 2020. Lars Vogt became music director in 2020 and revived the orchestra's recording program, but his tenure was cut short by his death in 2022. The Orchestre de Chambre de Paris is a resident ensemble at the Philharmonie de Paris. It also performs around greater Paris in venues such as the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Théâtre du Châtelet, and the Opéra Comique. Sometimes, in an effort to move closer to general audiences, the group performs in venues that do not often present classical music, including the Bataclan Concert Hall and for inmates of the Meaux-Chauconin correctional facility. The Orchestre de Chambre de Paris recorded an album of Schumann works for the ECM label in 2016, moved to Palazzetto Bru Zane for its first opera recording, Charles Lecocq's La fille de Madame Angot, in 2021, backed a variety of singers on the album Jules Massenet: Songs with Orchestra on that label in 2022 and returned to Mirare that year for a recording of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, K. 621, with soloist Raphaël Sévère. ~ James Manheim, Rovi