Le Concert de la Loge

Olympique. That orchestra, founded in 1783 by the Comte d’Ogny, was then considered one of the

finest in Europe and has remained famous for commissioning the ‘Paris’ Symphonies of Joseph Haydn,

which were premiered in the Salle des Cent-Suisses at the Tuileries Palace. At that time, a substantial

majority of musicians were Freemasons, and many concert associations were linked to Masonic Lodges

such as the Loge Olympique de la Parfaite Estime. The new, flexibly sized ensemble presents chamber,

symphonic and vocal-operatic programmes directed from the violin or the baton and champions a wide

repertory ranging from the Baroque era to the early twentieth century. This recreative project also aims

to explore new concert formats, harking back to the spontaneity of late-eighteenth-century practice,

which combined different genres and artists in a single programme, and to establish links with other

artistic disciplines.

Since it was founded, the ensemble has toured many venues with operas including Haydn’s Armida,

Sacchini’s Le Cid and Lemoyne’s Phèdre. It also enjoys regular collaborations with such renowned solo-

ists as Karina Gauvin, Sandrine Piau and Philippe Jaroussky.

On disc, the orchestra has embarked on a recording of Haydn’s complete ‘Paris’ Symphonies. Each

season it presents a programme modelled on the concert format of the period and featuring a guest

artist. The volumes already released are ‘Haydn-La Reine’ with Sandrine Piau, ‘Haydn-La Poule’ with

Justin Taylor, ‘Haydn-L’Ours’ with soloists from the orchestra, and ‘Haydn-L’Impatiente’ with Sophie

Karthäuser. The release in May 2019 of the disc ‘Si j’ai aimé’ with Sandrine Piau (Alpha Classics) is part

of a project exploring the neglected repertory of French Romantic mélodies with orchestra. All these

recordings have received critical acclaim, earning such distinctions as the Diapason d’Or, BBC Music

Magazine Choice, Diamant d’Opéra Magazine, Choc de Classica, Sélection Le Monde, ƒƒƒƒ Télérama and

the Grand Prix du Disque Charles Cros.

Since the French National Olympic and Sports Committee opposed the ensemble’s use of the adjective

‘Olympic’, it was forced to truncate its historical name and adopt the designation ‘Le Concert de la Loge’

in June 2016.