Since 1976, the year of its first concert, the Orchestre National de Lille has become a leading figure in the field of symphonic music, and beyond: while classical music is its speciality, it is equally known for contemporary jazz and Baroque music. Musical greats and emerging talents alike are regularly invited to perform with them. Alexandre Bloch confessed this desire to reach all audiences after taking up his position in 2016, in an interview for France Inter: “Music is sharing, and it needs to speak to everyone ".

The Orchestre National de Lille organises many events such as music lessons, open rehearsals and live performances of film soundtracks. It also has a high-tech digital audiovisual studio, guaranteeing the best possible recordings and effective distribution of its works. This artistic and technological development has helped the orchestra acquire an international reputation.

A Premier in Bucharest

Proving its national and international renown, the Orchestre National de Lille has performed in 250 municipalities in the Hauts-de-France region and in more than 30 countries on 4 continents. In September 2019, the Orchestra will visit the George Enescu Festival in Bucharest, Romania, a classical music festival which has taken place over three weeks every two years since 1958.

The programme for this 2019 edition is certainly prestigious: on 18th September, Harold in Italy by Berlioz will be performed at the Romanian Athenaeum, with Timothy Ridout as soloist, followed by Beethoven's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra under the leadership of Vlad Vizireanu. The day will end with Enescu’s Chamber Symphony, performed by twelve musicians.

Marion Cotillard playing Joan of Arc

The following day, a performance of Arthur Honegger's lyrical mystery Jeanne d’Arc au Bûcher set to a libretto by Paul Claudel will take place, with Marion Cotillard in the title role. Presenting the joint work of the French and Romanian orchestras, a children’s choir from Radio Romania will accompany soloist Alexandre Bloch, violinist Serguey Khachatryan and violist Timothy Ridout. Finally, actors Mathias Zakhar, Corentin Hot and Augustin Viard will play the Ondes Martenot.

With such a varied programme and such remarkable musicians, there is no doubt that the Orchestre National de Lille will be in a position to win over the sophisticated Romanian audiences.