The youngest permanent French orchestra
Orchestre permanent de la région Bourgogne Franche-Comté, l’Orchestre Victor Hugo interprète un large répertoire allant de Bach au Sacre du Printemps, de Lili Boulanger à Berio, de Glass à Léopold Mozart, de Mahler à Debussy, du jazz-rock au romantisme. Il n’hésite pas à programmer des concertos pour marimba, glass harmonica, blues band, ou même cor des alpes et propose des créations innovantes, avec les écrivains Bernard Friot et Vincent Cuvellier, le peintre Charles Belle, les jazzmen Andy Emler, Erik Truffaz, Awek Blues, David Linx, Baptiste Trotignon, la chorégraphe Nathalie Pernette, la vidéaste Claire Willeman, les chanteurs Hubert-Felix Thiéfaine, John Southworth ou encore MC Solaar, le Sirba Octet…
The best of the soloists and guest conductors
Since 2010, Jean-François Verdier, the Orchestra's Artistic Director, has chosen the best soloists and conductors to accompany this musical adventure. The Orchestre Victor Hugo collaborates with singers such as : Renée Fleming, Sandrine Piau, Piotr Beczala, Ludovic Tézier, Karine Deshayes, Isabelle Druet... and artists such as François Leleux, Anne Queffélec, Jean-François Heisser, Emmanuel Rossfelder, Sigiswald Kuijken, Bertrand de Billy, Reinhardt Goebel, Arie van Beek, Lio Kuokman, Alexandra Soumm, Nemanja Radulovic, Alexandre Kantorow, Valeriy Sokolov, Edicson Ruiz, Sergei Nakariakov, Pacho Flores, Isabelle Faust, Alexei Ogrintchouk, Sophie Dervaux... he also invites numerous female conductors: Sofi Jeannin, Debora Waldman, Alexandra Cravero, Elizabeth Askren, Dina Gilbert, Ustina Dubitsky, Johanna Malangré...
An orchestra for all audiences
The Victor Hugo Orchestra defines itself as a collective of musicians serving the public and music. Deeply involved in the social life of its region, it is also an active ambassador, whether at the Philharmonie de Paris where it has been invited several times, or in festivals such as the Folle journée de Nantes, the Eurockéennes, FestiNeuch, the Festival des Forêts, the Festival des Nuits Romantiques, the Festival Berlioz ... He reaches out to all audiences, especially children and teenagers, with artistic projects specially designed for them and by opening the doors of the stage, rehearsals, playing in libraries, school yards, factory sheds... He regularly creates shows for young audiences and launches in 2018 Rendez-vous conte, the first participatory season dedicated to musical tales.
Numerous award-winning records
The Orchestre Victor Hugo is one of France's most imaginative orchestras in terms of discography, with around two publications a year, which have received numerous distinctions (The Gramophone Editor's Choice, Choix de France Musique, Diamant d'Opéra Magazine, 2 Chocs de Classica, Clef d'or ResMusica, 5 Diapason, 4F de Télérama, Coups de Cœur de l'Académie Charles Cros...).
The Orchestre Victor Hugo is "associated" with two national stages: Les 2 Scènes (Besançon's national stage)
and MA scène nationale (Pays de Montbéliard's national stage), and with the Besançon International Music Festival.
L’Auditorium Jacques Kreisler – CRR du Grand Besançon / Cité des Arts est le lieu privilégié de répétition de l’Orchestre.
The Victor Hugo Orchestra is financed by the City of Besançon, the Burgundy-Franche-Comté Region, the City of Montbéliard and Pays de Montbéliard Agglomération within the framework of a mixed syndicate. It is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Communication (DRAC Bourgogne-Franche-Comté).