La Chambre Philharmonique, a period-instrument orchestra created under the aegis of Emmanuel Krivine, is the result of a utopian ideal. As a project-based group, it is composed of musicians from well-established European ensembles all motivated by the same desire: to place pleasure and discovery at the heart of their musical adventure.

Unusual for an orchestra, the conductor and players enjoy equal status. The size of the ensemble, which focuses on the classical and romantic repertoire, is flexible, bringing together players, instruments and historical techniques appropriate for each programme, providing a forum for research and exchange.

Since its debut at the Folle Journée in Nantes in 2004, La Chambre Philharmonique has met with enthusiastic response wherever it has performed, be it in France at the Cité de la Musique and the Opéra Comique in Paris, the Opéra Royal in Versailles, the Grand Théâtre d'Aix-en-Provence, in Lyon, Grenoble, Caen and Montpellier, or in Lausanne, Montreux,Monte-Carlo, Luxembourg, Bruges, Barcelona, Istanbul, Essen, at the Alte Oper Frankfurt and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival. The ensemble has worked with prestigious soloists such as Viktoria Mullova, Andreas Staier, Emanuel Ax, Peter Whispelwey, Véronique Gens, Alexander Janiczek and Robert Levin.

La Chambre Philharmonique also places significant importance on the music of today, premiering works by composers such as Bruno Mantovani in 2005 (commissioned by La Chambre Philharmonique) and Yan Maresz in 2006 (commissioned by Mécénat Musical Société Générale).

A recording of Mozart's C minor Mass with the Accentus choir, Sandrine Piau, Anne-Lise Sollied, Paul Agnew and Frédéric Caton appeared on the Naïve label in November 2005. A second CD, dedicated to the works of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, was released in January 2007 with enthusiastic reception by the critics (ffff Télérama). The first recording ever made on period instruments of Dvořák‘s New World Symphony, combined with Schumann's Konzertstück for four horns and orchestra with David Guerrier, was rewarded with a Classique d'Or RTL after its release in 2008. A video recording of Franck's Symphony and the Fauré Requiem with the Choir Les Eléments was broadcast on the Franco-German television channel Arte in 2007.

The performance of Beethoven's complete symphonies at the MC2 in Grenoble, the Théâtre de Caen and at Cité de la Musique in Paris between 2008 and 2011 has been a milestone in the orchestra's artistic work. The cycle's recording for Naïve was supported by Mécénat Musical Société Générale and Spedidam.

In 2012, La Chambre Philharmonique made its debut at the Rheingau Musik Festival, the festival Niedersächsische Musiktage and the Beethovenfest Bonn.

Mécénat Musical Société Générale is the principal patron of La Chambre Philharmonique. The orchestra also receives funds from the French Ministry of Culture as well as from the Conseil Général de l'Isère.


"Emmanuel Krivine is one of today's greatest conductors ans is never, under any circumstances, to be missed." (The Guardian/London)

Emmanuel Krivine, of Russian and Polish descent, showed his great interest for the organ and symphonic music at very young age. He started his musical career as as violinist, winning the Prix du Conservatoire de Paris at the age of 16 and earning many other prestigious awards as a student of Szeryng and Menuhin whilst at the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elizabeth.

After a meeting with Karl Böhm in Salzburg in 1965, Emmanuel Krivine's career took a decisive turn in which he decided to trade his bow for a baton. From 1976 to 1983, he became the permanent guest conductor of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. He was Musical Director of the Orchestre National de Lyon from 1987 until 2000, and of the Orchestre Francais des Jeunes for eleven years. At the beginning of the 2006/07 season he accepted the post of Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, following acclaimed collaborations with the orchestra as a guest conductor since 2001.

Emmanuel Krivine has conducted many of the world's finest orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandshausorchester, Zurich Tonhalle, RAI Turin and Czech Philharmonic. In North America he has conducted the Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, and in Asia and Australia he has worked with the Sydney and Melbourne Orchestras, NHK Symphony Tokyo and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra.

Highlights of recent and future seasons include tours of the UK, Spain and Italy with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, performances with the National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. In the opera house he also conducted acclaimed productions at the Opéra-Comique in Paris (Béatrice et Bénédict) and Opera de Lyon (Die Fledermaus). The current season and beyond sees visits to the Philadelphia Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, St Petersburg Philharmonic and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestras.

In 2004 Emmanuel Krivine joined forces with a group of musicians from all over Europe to form La Chambre Philharmonique. He and the ensemble devote themselves to the research and interpretation of the classical and romantic repertoire up to the present day, using instruments that are adapted to the compositions and the period, and winning recognition through their much acclaimed recordings.