Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France & Ludwig Wicki
Biography Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France & Ludwig Wicki
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
Since its establishment in 1937 the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France has gained a distinctive reputation among European ensembles, as much for its eclectic repertoire and advocacy of new music –with more than 25 premieres each season – as for its imaginatively conceived concerts, its outstanding roster of guest artists, and its dynamic education and outreach programmes.
Committed to making each concert a memorable musical and human experience, Mikko Franck, the orchestra’s Music Director since 2015, embodies its special spirit, values and ambitions. His contract has now been extended to 2025, ensuring his long-term tenure in this role. Previous Music Directors include Myung-Whun Chung, Marek Janowski and Gilbert Amy.
Over its history the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France has been conducted by a wealth of major musical personalities, ranging from Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht to Gustavo Dudamel by way of Aaron Copland, Pierre Boulez, John Eliot Gardiner, Lahav Shani, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Daniel Harding and Barbara Hannigan.
In Paris, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France gives its concerts at either the Auditorium de Radio France or the Philharmonie de Paris, and its regular tours cover France and such major international venues as the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, NCPA in Beijing and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.
Mikko Franck and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France record extensively for the Alpha label, most recently releasing the CD Franck by Franck, with César Franck’s Symphony in D minor, the first recording of Pierre Henry’s conception of Beethoven’s 10th Symphony, and a Richard Strauss album including Tod und Verklärung and the Burleske with pianist Nelson Goerner.
In addition, the orchestra’s concerts are broadcast on the radio station France Musique and many of them can be heard and watched online at francemusique.fr and arte.tv. France Télévisions broadcasts selected major events and the orchestra’s series exploring the orchestral repertoire, Les Clefs de l’orchestre, which is hosted by pianist, teacher and broadcaster Jean-François Zygel.
In collaboration with Radio France the orchestra develops projects that fuse different styles and genres, such as storytelling concerts on France Culture, Hip Hop on Mouv’ and, more recently, Symphonique Pop on France Inter, Symphonique Mix with Fip and the podcast series Une histoire et... Oli, also on France Inter.
The orchestra believes in taking an active role in culture and society, and each season it refreshes its outreach programme with creative projects for schoolchildren, workshops and innovative concert formats (including audience participation) and activities in hospitals and prisons. In 2021 it launches a new schools partnership with its Orchestre à l’école project.
The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Mikko Franck are UNICEF Ambassadors.
Ludwig Wicki
Born in the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland, Ludwig Wicki grew up in a musical environment influenced by folk and church music. He studied trombone and was a member of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra at a young age. He also studied conducting and choral conducting in Bern. Further conducting studies took him to Dresden with Kreuzkantor Martin Flämig and to Pescara with Professor Donato Renzetti. He also devoted himself intensively to chamber music and founded the Philharmonic Brass Quintet Lucerne. This was followed by CD, radio, and television recordings, as well as an invitation to join the Empire Brass Quintet at the Tanglewood Institute in Boston. As a baroque trombonist, he gained extensive experience in orchestras and ensembles with period instruments, which he can now apply as a conductor. During this time, he has worked with personalities such as Andrew Parrott, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Jeremy West, and Simon Standage.
As a conductor, Ludwig Wicki pursues a variety of styles. As Kapellmeister of the Hofkirche Lucerne, he cultivates the sacred repertoire from Gregorian chant to contemporary music. His focus is on masses from the classics (especially Haydn), the works of J.S. Bach, and Renaissance masterpieces by Palestrina, Monteverdi, Schütz, and others. As artistic director of the Renaissance ensemble "Il Dolcimelo," he devotes himself primarily to the works of Schütz, Monteverdi, and Gabrieli. As a conductor of symphonic concerts, his repertoire includes works from the late Romantic period, Impressionism, and Viennese Classicism, as well as works for chamber ensembles by Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and contemporaries.
In 1999, he founded the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra, whose artistic director and chief conductor is Ludwig Wicki. The orchestra currently performs a season with over ten special film music projects. This has led him to collaborate with renowned film music composers such as Howard Shore, Michael Giacchino, Patrick Doyle, George Fenton, Danny Elfman, James Horner, Alan Silvestri, Randy Newman, David Arnold, and Martin Böttcher. He also has a passion for classic silent films with live music by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and cult films such as Nosferatu.
In 2008, Ludwig Wicki conducted the world premiere of "The Fellowship of the Ring" at the KKL Lucerne, the first live performance of the original score for the first film in the trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings." Since then, he has conducted this work in Munich, Washington, Lyon, Sydney, London (Royal Albert Hall), and New York (Radio City Music Hall and Lincoln Center), among others. This was followed by the world premieres of "The Two Towers" in 2009 and "The Return of the King" in 2010. He has also conducted the world premieres of "The Pirates of the Caribbean," Fantasia, Gladiator, Star Trek, Alice in Wonderland, Perfume, Titanic, Ratatouille, Indiana Jones, Amadeus, Batman, Aliens, Jurassic Park, and many more. In 2011, he conducted the premiere of the youth project "Ristorante Allegro" with the Munich Philharmonic. In 2012, he conducted the first recording of the "Lord of the Rings" Symphony. In 2014, he conducted the recordings of Michael Giacchino's soundtrack to Jupiter Ascending, in 2015 to Book of Henry, and in 2018 to Jurassic World 2 at Abbey Road Studios.
In 2007, Ludwig Wicki was awarded the City of Lucerne's Recognition Prize for his services as a film music conductor. In 2013, he received an Award for Excellence in Cultural Creativity from the Global Thinkers Forum.
