It is perhaps not surprising that pianist Pascal Rogé -- a third-generation French musician -- has mastered the modern French piano repertoire. What is surprising is the actual breadth of his repertoire and the young age at which he excelled.

In 1962, at the age of 11, he was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire, having previously studied with his mother. By the age of 15, he had won first prize for both piano and chamber music. At 18, he performed solo recitals in both Paris and London. But his major breakthrough was the first prize in the Jacques Thibaud International Competition in 1971. Several European engagements followed, and in 1974 he made his first tour to the United States, returning nearly every season. He has also become a favorite in Australia and Japan, where he has made over 20 tours.

Rogé's particular strengths lie in his sensitive and personal interpretations of 20th century French composers; he has made recordings of complete cycles of Ravel, Poulenc, and Satie, among others. His repertoire also includes d'Indy, Saint-Saëns, as well as the great German masters -- Haydn, Mozart, Brahms, and Beethoven. His recordings have received numerous awards, including the Grand Prix du Disque and an Edison award for the Ravel concertos. His first volume of Poulenc won the 1988 Gramophone award for Best Instrumental Recording, and his collaboration with Chantal Juillet and Truls Mørk won the 1997 Gramophone award for Best Chamber Music recording. In the new century, he began a new recording project for Onyx that included a complete Debussy cycle. He also began performing and touring with his wife, Ami Rogé. The pair commissioned a two piano concerto from Matthew Hindson, which they premiered in 2011.

He has taught at the Académie in Nice, but a busy international schedule has kept him from consistent teaching. More stylist than virtuosic, his solo pianism has been recognized for its decidedly French elegance, while his collaboration with orchestras has been noted for its faultless musicianship, and made him a favorite of conductors ranging from Charles Dutoit to Lorin Maazel to Kurt Masur.

The Orchestre National de France has been associated with French national radio broadcasting for much of its career. It also lives up to its name, giving concerts around France in addition to those at its home venues in Paris.

The Orchestre National de France, or ONF, was founded in 1934 by Radio France as the Orchestre National, giving its first concert at the Paris Conservatory. Its first conductor was Désiré-Emile Inghelbrecht. In 1939, many of the orchestra's musicians were conscripted into the French army. The rest of the group moved to the city of Rennes but disbanded when that city was bombed. The orchestra was reconstituted in Marseilles by the collaborationist Vichy government in 1941; Jewish musicians were banned. The orchestra returned to Paris in 1943 and the following year, gave its first concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, where it continues to perform today. It also appears at the Salle Olivier Messiaen at the Maison de Radio France. All of the group's roughly 70 annual concerts are broadcast on the French national radio network ORTF. The orchestra has changed its name several times. When independent French radio was reestablished in 1945, it became the Orchestre national de la Radiodiffusion française, and in 1949 the Orchestre national de la Radio-télévision française or Orchestre national de la RTF. In 1964, the group took on the cumbersome name of Orchestre national de l'Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française or Orchestre national de l'ORTF, shortened in 1975 to the present name. Manuel Rosenthal replaced Inghelbrecht in 1944, and after the war, he restored French and contemporary programming that had been banned under German rule. Major conductors have included Jean Martinon (1968-1973), Lorin Maazel (1988-1990), Charles Dutoit (1991-2001), Kurt Masur (2002-2007), Daniele Gatti (2008-2016), Emmanuel Krivine (2017-2020), and, as of 2020, Cristian Măcelaru. The group has spent considerable periods without a chief conductor, and during those times has attracted an A-list of international guest conductors that included Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, and Georg Solti. Guest soloists have been similarly prestigious, with Martha Argerich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Yo-Yo Ma numbered among them.

The ONF has recorded prolifically for Erato, EMI, Naïve, and other labels. The group has often premiered and recorded contemporary French works but also issues recordings of the standard repertory, not all of it French. In the late 2010s, the orchestra moved to Erato partner Warner Classics, issuing a recording of Alexandre Desplat's Airlines in 2020. ~ James Manheim

One of the world's foremost conductors, Charles Dutoit is especially noted for his performances of French, Russian, and 20th century music. Dutoit began his studies at the Lausanne Conservatory (violin, piano, and orchestral conducting), and later continued in Geneva. In 1958 he received his diploma in conducting and went to Alceo Galliera at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena. In 1959 he took additional training in orchestral conducting in Tanglewood. From 1957 to 1959 Dutoit worked as a violist in Europe and South America before returning to Switzerland to conduct. In 1959 he was appointed as a guest conductor of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. From 1964 to 1966 he worked as a conductor for Radio Zurich, and from 1965-1967 he conducted ballet at the Vienna Opera. He succeeded Paul Kletzki as the head of the Bern Symphony Orchestra (1968-1978). In addition to his work in Bern, he directed the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico from 1973 to 1975, and the Symphony Orchestra of Göteborg from 1975 to 1978. In 1977 Dutoit obtained the major appointment of his career: music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He quickly elevated the Montreal to international acclaim. He notably improved the orchestra's scheduling of Classical-era works, particularly the symphonies of Haydn. He is also noted for the championing of new Canadian music. Dutoit has been the artistic director and principal conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra's concert series at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY, and has also directed the orchestra's summer series at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia. In 1990, Dutoit became music director of the Orchestre National de France. Since September 1996, he has been the principal conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo and as of September 1998, also their music director. In April 2002, Dutoit resigned his position with Montreal Symphony.

While in Montreal, Dutoit established an impressive legacy of recordings that won over 40 national and international awards including the Grand Prix du Président de la République (France), the High Fidelity International Record Critics' Award, the Amsterdam Edison Award, the Japan Record Academy Award, the German Music Critics' Award, as well as numerous Juno awards. Dutoit and the Montreal received their first Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Opera Recording of Berlioz's Les Troyens and more recently, a second Grammy for their 1999 recording of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto Nos. 1 and No. 3, and Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 3 with pianist Martha Argerich (Dutoit's former wife). The Montreal and Dutoit also recently won a Juno Award for their recording of Respighi's La Boutique Fantasque and Impressioni brasiliane.

Between 1981 and 2001, Dutoit and the Montreal undertook significant tours of Europe, the Far East, South America and the United States. Dutoit has conducted all the major orchestras of the world including those in Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin and Munich Philharmonics, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Since his operatic debut at Covent Garden in 1983, he has conducted the Metropolitan Opera and at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. Dutoit has received numerous awards and distinctions including honorary doctorates from McGill University, the Université de Montréal, and the Université Laval. In 1982 Dutoit was named Musician of the Year by the Canadian Music Council, and in 1988 he received the Canadian Music Council Medal in recognition of his contribution to music in Canada. Also in 1988, the French government made Dutoit an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 1996, he was promoted to Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Since 2008, he has served as chief conductor and artistic adviser of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and since 2009, he has led the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Verbier Festival Orchestra.