10 years ago... the Paris Philharmonic

On 14 January 2025, the prestigious Philharmonie de Paris, of which Societe Generale has been a patron since its creation, will celebrate its 10^th anniversary. This will represent a unique opportunity to look back at the history of this exceptional architectural, artistic and educational project.

The idea of hosting a philharmonic orchestra in Paris goes back more than fifty years. Originally the brain-child of the composer and conductor Pierre Boulez in the 1970s, the project aimed to build a City of Music, comparable to the Lincoln Center in New York. However, when the Cité de la Musique was finally opened in 1995, it did not have a sufficiently large auditorium. The Paris Philharmonic project resurfaced in 2002 and was even part of the campaigns of presidential candidates Jacques Chirac and Lionel Jospin. In 2007, the architect Jean Nouvel was entrusted with the design of this exceptional venue. The project would be colossal and take six years to fully complete.

When it was inaugurated in early 2015, the result certainly lived up to expectations. With its unique silhouette and metal exterior covered with 340,000 birds made of aluminium sheets, the building is a real technical marvel. It houses a concert hall with exceptional acoustics and a modular stage offering 17 different configurations.

The Paris Philharmonic, of which the Societe Generale Foundation is a Major Partner, will host on January 18, 19 and 20, 2025, “Playing for Philharmonie”, a concert series that has brought together on stage for 10 years, 450 professional and amateur choristers and instrumentalists from across the Group alongside professional musicians of the Orchestre Les Siècles and of the choir Les Métaboles. The proceeds of the public concert, supported by a donation from the corporate foundation, will be donated to the La Balise project of the Paris Philharmonic.

By Élodie Epaillard, journalist.