| JEAN-CLAUDE CASADESUS – 7 December 1935 90 years old and 60 years devoted to music  For sixty years, Jean-Claude Casadesus has devoted himself entirely to music. A career marked by strong convictions and concrete actions.In 1976, he founded the Orchestre national de Lille in the midst of a region severely affected by economic crisis. He built the orchestra into an ensemble of the highest standard, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2026.His mission extended beyond merely performing music. Casadesus wanted to make music, often considered elitist, accessible to everyone: factory workers, prisoners, young people who would otherwise never attend a concert. He was fond of quoting Malraux: “The word art can give people a sense of greatness they did not know existed within them.”International reach Under his direction, the orchestra has performed in fifty countries across four continents. From the United States to Latin America, from Sub-Saharan Africa to Russia, Japan, China and Kazakhstan.Casadesus also consistently championed contemporary music. He studied conducting with Pierre Boulez and established composer residencies. His own career illustrates this versatility: for ten years he was principal timpanist with the Concerts Colonne and soloist with Boulez’s Domaine musical, but he also accompanied jazz artists and chanson singers such as Sinatra, Brel and Aznavour. Still active at 90 He continues to receive regular international invitations. Recently he has conducted in Riga, Bucharest and several times in Japan (Kanazawa, Hiroshima, Tokyo, Nagoya). In Rabat, at the invitation of King Mohammed VI, he led a particularly significant ecumenical concert in the presence of Pope Francis, with nearly one hundred artists from the three monotheistic religions – a symbol of peace and brotherhood.The Hauts-de-France region has honoured him extensively: ten halls and institutions bear his name. Regional President Xavier Bertrand renamed the hall of the Nouveau Siècle in Lille the “Auditorium Jean-Claude Casadesus”. President Macron recently appointed him Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. Biography Jean-Claude Casadesus founded the Orchestre national de Lille in 1976 and led it for more than forty years. As founding conductor, he continues to conduct the orchestra whilst pursuing his international career.Under his leadership, the orchestra has visited 32 countries on four continents and developed an exemplary policy of making music accessible to children and people who would not normally have access to it.As a committed advocate of contemporary music, he established composer residencies and has been President of Musique Nouvelle en Liberté since 2001. His discography includes more than thirty recordings with the Orchestre national de Lille, unanimously praised by audiences and critics alike. Recent recordings include Richard Strauss’s “Ein Heldenleben”, Mahler’s Second Symphony and “Das Lied von der Erde”, as well as an album devoted to Henri Dutilleux featuring his First Symphony and Métaboles. Opera lover and pedagogue As guest conductor, he has appeared with major international companies: Philadelphia, Moscow, St Petersburg, Berlin, London, Singapore, Monte Carlo and Buenos Aires.At the beginning of his career, he was Music Director of the Châtelet and later Principal Conductor of the Opéra de Paris and the Opéra Comique. Together with his mentor Pierre Dervaux, he participated in founding the Orchestre des Pays de Loire, where he was Deputy Director.His passion for opera has taken him to major productions at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Orange, Paris, Trieste, Monte Carlo, the Flemish Opera and the Opéra de Lille. There he conducted a memorable production of Carmen with Stéphanie d’Oustrac, directed by Jean-François Sivadier.Passing on his knowledge to young musicians was particularly important to him. He has conducted the Orchestre Français des Jeunes and the youth orchestra of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris at the Philharmonie. In 2016, he was appointed President of the École Supérieure Musique et Danse des Hauts de France. Publications and honours Casadesus has written two books: “Le plus court chemin d’un cœur à un autre” (Stock, 1997) and “La partition d’une vie” (Écriture, 2012).He has received numerous distinctions: Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit, Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, and the aforementioned appointment as Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. In 2004, the Victoires de la Musique Classique awarded him an honorary Victoire. Since 2022, he has been listed in the Larousse dictionary.In the Hauts-de-France region, ten locations have been named after him: cultural centres in Pont-à-Marcq, Louvroil and Leers, music schools in Dechy, Orchies, Hazebrouck, Aulnoye-Aymeries and Neuville-en-Ferrain, a primary school in Hulluch, and the auditorium of the Nouveau Siècle in Lille. He conducts there twice a season and at the Lille Piano(s) Festival, which he founded in 2003.Since 2019, there has also been a rose bearing his name. The breeder Bernard Panozzo created this opulent flower with colours that evolve from yellow to orange and red, accompanied by a fruity fragrance. The blooming lasts until November. Panozzo poetically compared the unfolding of the rose to a musical score: “Everything begins slowly, in a bud that crescendo reveals its form, colour and fragrance, to end in a fortissimo of colour and scent.” Current activities Casadesus continues to conduct actively in Lille and internationally. Recently he appeared in Budapest and several times in Japan. Following concerts in Hiroshima, Kanazawa and Tokyo in November 2025, he has been invited twice to Nagoya, where he will perform with his grandson Thomas Enhco. He also returns regularly to Bucharest and Riga. 2025-2026 concerts Lille – Le Grand Sud 27, 28 and 29 November 2025 (8pm, 29 November in Sainghin-en-Mélantois) Mozart programme: Don Giovanni (overture), Piano Concerto No. 21, Le nozze di Figaro (overture), Symphony No. 40 Thomas Enhco (piano), Orchestre National de Lille Paris – Théâtre des Champs-Élysées 25 January 2026 (6pm) Concert in honour of Casadesus’s 90th birthday Verdi: Overture “La forza del destino”, Ravel: Piano Concerto in G, Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique Thomas Enhco (piano), Orchestre Colonne Rungis – Theatre 27 January 2026 (8.30pm) Same programme as Paris Budapest, Hungary 25 February 2026 Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto and Organ Symphony Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra Nagoya, Japan 5-12 April 2026 Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring Cluj, Romania 10-17 May 2026 Festival des Étoiles du Piano, Saint-Germain-en-Laye 25-30 June 2026 Riga, Latvia 8 and 10 October 2026 Poulenc: Organ Concerto, Saint-Saëns: Organ Symphony Further information: Facebook/Jean-Claude Casadesus | ||
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| Orchestre National de Lille 30 place Mendès France BP 70119 Lille 59027 France François Decoster, Président Nathalie Van Vliet, Administratrice générale Joshua Weilerstein, Directeur musical |