Pasdeloup Orchestra

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Pasdeloup Orchestra, also known as Orchestre des Concerts Pasdeloup, is a French symphony orchestra. It was started in 1861 by Jules Pasdeloup as Concerts Populaires, the oldest private Parisian orchestra still in existence. It was created to reach people who did not attend evening concerts by offering cheap Sunday concerts at the Cirque d'hiver in Paris. The opening concert on 27 October 1861 had 80 musicians. Rehearsals took place at the Conservatoire on Tuesdays and Thursdays and at the Cirque d'hiver on Saturdays; musicians were paid 15 francs per concert with rehearsals. The first leader was Lancien, and early programs included Berlioz and Wagner. The concerts were a big success and helped introduce Austro-German music and influence French symphonic writing.

Pasdeloup continued the concerts until 1884 and tried to restart in 1886 with a César Franck festival, which was successful. The orchestra was revived in 1919 under Serge Sandberg as Orchestre Pasdeloup. Since 2015, the Philharmonie de Paris main hall is its principal venue. André Caplet was deputy chief conductor from 1922 to 1925. From 1990 there is no permanent principal conductor; the orchestra is run by a committee, and since 2000 the committee has been chaired by violinist Marianne Rivière. Patrice Fontanarosa is the current artistic advisor, and Jean-Christophe Keck oversees the Offenbach concerts. Conductor Wolfgang Doerner has led the orchestra regularly each season since 1987.