Tugan Sokhiev- Musical Director

Since September 2005, Tugan Sokhiev has been Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Adviser of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. He will become its Musical Director from September 2008 on.

The Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse was founded at the beginning of the nineteenth Century, to perform operas during the seasons of the Théâtre du Capitole. Its vocation as a Symphonic Orchestra was established after 1945, with André Cluytens and Georges Prêtre as musical director. The appointment of Michel Plasson in 1968 marked a decisive step in the activity of the Orchestra, in France and abroad. The symphonic part of its activity has significantly increased under his baton. It made numerous tours out of France and has recorded numbers of discs for EMI. The renewal of the musical organisation in France, initiated by Marcel Landowski, increased the number of musicians to 104 and, in 1980, the French Ministry of Culture decided to give the title of Orchestre National to the Orchestre du Capitole. Michel Plasson left the Orchestra in August 2003 and currently holds the title of Conductor Emeritus of the Orchestra.

The Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse is in charge of the symphonic season of the Halle aux Grains and the opera season of the Théâtre du Capitole. Many concerts also take place in the Toulouse area.

The Orchestra is invited by numerous festivals and concert halls. In 2007/2008, it participated to Piano aux Jacobins, Toulouse les Orgues, Radio France’s Présences, the Chorégies in Orange… It is frequently invited by the prestigious salle Pleyel in Paris where it will perform three concerts next season.

A large number of tours have also increased the celebrity of the Orchestra abroad. In 2008/2009, the Orchestra will do a series of concerts in several European capitals.

The Orchestre National du Capitole has recorded about a hundred CD with prestigious artists. We can quote Carmen by Bizet with Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, which has unanimously been acclaimed by the critic and the public and which won a "Victoire de la Musique 2004" as "the classical recording of the year". We can also mention the "Werther" DVD with Thomas Hampson and Susan Graham (2006), recorded in Théâtre du Châtelet.

Tugan Sokhiev and the Orchestre National du Capitole have now signed a contract with Naïve Classique. Their first recording of Moussorgski (Pictures at an Exhibition) and Tchaïkovski (Symphony n°4) has been released in 2006 and immediately acclaimed by the critics and the public. Their second recording, Pierre et le Loup with Valérie Lemercier as a narrator, came out at the Autumn 2007.

In February 2008, the Orchestra received a "Victoire d’honneur" during the 15th edition of the Victoires de la Musique Classique that took place in la Halle aux Grains in Toulouse.

Karol Beffa has been the Orchestra’s composer in residence since the season 2006/2007. Under the baton of Tugan Sokhiev, the Orchestre National du Capitole and Boris Berezovsky will create his Concerto pour piano in May 2009.