Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
The first French orchestra to launch its own label: 100% digital at first, now hybrid, with physical and digital releases as well as digital-only ones.
Press
« La convergence avec l’univers de Beethoven arrive à point nommé »
« plus proche du scherzo beethovénien que du menuet du XVIIIᵉ »
Diapason (Yannick Millon) — Horizons
« une lecture riche en nuances et miroitements argentés »
« les phrases demeurent acérées, portées par des sonorités électrisantes »
Diapason (Jérôme Bastianelli) — Schubert, « La Jeune Fille et la Mort » & Quartettsatz (Roberto Forés Veses) · November 2022 · 5 Diapason
« the string phrasing and colouring […] is predictably refined »
Gramophone — Horizons · February 2026
« un véritable voyage sonore »
« une justesse et une émotion saisissantes »
Crescendo (Bertrand Balmitgère) — In Evening Light · Son 10 · Livret 10 · Interprétation 9
« révéler les couleurs sous un nouveau jour »
« Un enregistrement à découvrir sans attendre »
Crescendo (Bertrand Balmitgère) — Quatuor de Ravel (version pour orchestre à cordes) · Son 10 · Répertoire 9 · Interprétation 10
« un programma insolito e raffinato »
« Una registrazione importante »
Musica (Giuseppe Rossi) — Perspectives (Haydn, Ligeti ; Thomas Zehetmair) · ★★★★ · n° 352, décembre 2023 – janvier 2024
« La Orquesta Nacional de Auvernia lo hace con plena solvencia »
« un disco que resucita a una pionera con piezas muy suyas »
Scherzo (Luis Suñén) — Miroirs / Jane Evrard
Télérama — Review of the album Horizons (Haydn, Thomas Zehetmair) ↗
Biography
Under the baton of Principal Conductor Thomas Zehetmair and Associate Conductors Enrico Onofri and Christian Zacharias, the Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is thrilled to launch a brand-new musical season packed with adventurous programmes, concerts and tours. Thanks to the support and impetus of our Associate Conductors and the surrounding region as a whole, our unique ensemble has been able to successfully enrich its repertoire with a plethora of original and inventive projects, weaving together a series of concerts across stages near and far in perfect harmony.
From quartet to orchestra, the globally-minded string ensemble continues to project the charm of its region across international borders, all the while innovating within the metropolis of Clermont-Ferrand and its home streets in Auvergne through a whole host of musical formats suitable for all kinds of audiences, from Baby concerts, Relax concerts and Coffee concerts to recitals in nursing homes and local residencies: a diverse approach recognised by the Ministry of Culture in 2019, awarding the ensemble the prestigious title of “Orchestre national en région”.
Testament to the huge diversity of its repertoire, to date the orchestra has recorded 60 albums exploring an abundance of musical styles, from baroque masterpieces to contemporary creations. The ensemble is also the first French orchestra to create its own 100% freely accessible digital label, OnA Live, which has currently been streamed more than 760,000 times in almost 240 countries and territories.
Since it was founded in 1981, the Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has always strived to reach a broad audience both regionally and internationally. Nestled in the heart of the Massif Central, the ensemble is praised amongst French orchestral music lovers for its unique sonority, strength and quest for absolute perfection. Initially formed with Jean-Jacques Kantorow at the helm, followed by Arie van Beek and Roberto Forés Veses, the orchestra has a signature sound that has gradually been shaped by the invaluable input of musical directors past and present, now instantly recognised across the world.
Releases with 21 Music · 27 releases
HorizonsThomas Zehetmair & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Mason: Voix TerrestreAdrien Perruchon & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Ravel: Quatuor à cordes in F Major, M. 35 (Arr. pour orchestre à cordes de Richard Tognetti)Guillaume Chilemme & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
In Evening LightGuillaume Chilemme, Alexander Liebreich & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Concertos pour trompetteRomain Leleu, Roberto Forés Veses & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Berg - Webern - SchrekerRoberto Forés Veses & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Tchaïkovski - sibeliusRoberto Forés Veses & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Dvořák - Martinů - JanáčekRoberto Forés Veses & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Concertos pour harpeNaoko Yoshino, Roberto Forés Veses & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Beethoven: Quatuors, Opp. 95 & 131Roberto Forés Veses & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Piazzolla IntimeWilliam Sabatier & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
PerspectivesThomas Zehetmair & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Brahms: Quintette à cordes No. 2 in G Major, Op. 111 (Live)Thomas Zehetmair, Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes & Johannes Brahms
ArouraThomas Zehetmair, Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes & Iannis Xenakis
Ombres et lumièresWolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Enrico Onofri, Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Jane Evrard MiroirsRomain Leleu, Roberto Forés Veses, Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Albert Roussel, Jean Rivier & Arthur Honegger
La jeune fille et la mortRoberto Forés Veses, Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes & Franz Schubert
CrépusculeRoberto Forés Veses, Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Arnold Schönberg & Richard Strauss
Beethoven: Concerto pour violon et orchestre en Ré majeur, Op. 61 (Live)Alena Baeva, Roberto Forés Veses & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Betsy Jolas, Side Roads, Thierry Escaich: Prélude symphoniqueAnssi Karttunen, Roberto Forés Veses & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
C.P.E Bach: Concerto pour piano, cordes et basse continue en ré mineur (Live)Christian Zacharias, Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes & Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach
Concerto pour piano, cordes et basse continueCarl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Christian Zacharias & Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Piotr Ilitch Tchaikovsky : Souvenir de Florence (Live Clermont-Ferrand)Roberto Forés Veses, Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes & Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Richard Strauss, Anton Bruckner, Joseph Haydn (Live)Thomas Zehetmair, Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Richard Strauss, Anton Bruckner & Joseph Haydn
Variations Goldberg (Arr. by Dmitri Sitkovetsky)Guillaume Chilemme, Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Johann Sebastian Bach & Dmitri Sitkovetsky
Sibelius: Quatuor Voces intimae (Live)Roberto Forés Veses, Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes & Jean Sibelius
Symphonie no. 7Beethoven; Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Roberto Forés Veses