In January 2015, the violinist Julien Chauvin founded a new period-instrument orchestra with the ambition of reviving an essential component of French musical history: the Concert de la Loge Olympique.
That orchestra, founded in 1783 by the Comte d’Ogny, was then considered one of the finest in Europe and has remained famous for commissioning the ‘Paris’ Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. At that time, a substantial majority of musicians were Freemasons, and many concert associations were linked to Masonic Lodges such as the Loge Olympique de la Parfaite Estime.
The modern, flexibly sized ensemble presents chamber, symphonic and vocal-operatic programmes directed from the violin or the baton and champions a wide repertory ranging from the Baroque era to the early twentieth century.
The aim of this recreation project is also to explore new forms of concerts, harking back to the spontaneity of late-eighteenth practice, which intermingled different genres and artists in a single programme, and to establish links with other artistic disciplines.
Since it was founded, the ensemble has toured many venues with operas including Haydn’s Armida directed by Mariame Clément, Sacchini’s Le Cid directed by Sandrine Anglade, Lemoyne’s Phèdre and Isouard’s Cendrillon staged by Marc Paquien for the Palazzetto Bru Zane and Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail staged by Christophe Rulhes. It also enjoys regular collaborations with such renowned soloists as Karina Gauvin, Sandrine Piau, Philippe Jaroussky and Justin Taylor.
On disc, the orchestra has recorded six volumes of Haydn’s complete ‘Paris’ Symphonies (Aparté label) with works from the same period performed at the Concert de la Loge Olympique. In addition, the ensemble has devoted itself to rediscovering other repertoires: the French melodies orchestrated in “Si j’ai aimé” with Sandrine Piau (Alpha label), the “Symphonies de Salons” (Aparté label), and violin concerti for the Naïve label with the release in 2020 of the 63rd volume of the Vivaldi Edition “Il Teatro”.
In 2021, Le Concert de la Loge has begun a new collaboration with the Alpha label around Mozart’s three last symphonies.
Its recordings have received critical acclaim, earning such distinctions as the Diamant d’Opéra Magazine, Choc de Classica, Sélection Le Monde, ffff Télérama and the Grand Prix du Disque Charles Cros…
Since the French National Olympic and Sports Committee opposed the ensemble’s use of the adjective ‘Olympic’, it was forced to truncate its historical name and adopt the designation ‘Le Concert de la Loge’ in June 2016.
The ensemble is supported by the Ministère de la Culture, the Ville de Paris, the Region Île-de-France, the Société Générale C’est vous l’avenir Foundation (its main sponsor), the Fonds de dotation Françoise Kahn-Hamm and the sponsors who are members of Club Olympe. He is in residence at the Jean-Baptiste Lully Conservatory in Puteaux and at the Arsenal – Cité musicale-Metz. It is also an associate artist in residence at the Fondation Singer-Polignac, as well as an associate ensemble at the Auditorium du Louvre and the Théâtre Sénart. In 2021, the ensemble has begun a four-year cross-residency with the Association pour le Développement des Activités Musicales dans l’Aisne (ADAMA) and the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles.
2025
Julien Chauvin
Violin & direction
Early on, Julien Chauvin was drawn to the Baroque revolution and the revival of historical performance practice on period instruments. He pursued his training in the Netherlands at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague under Vera Beths, co-founder of the Archibudelli ensemble alongside Anner Bylsma. In 2003, he became a laureate of the International Early Music Competition in Bruges and subsequently performed as a soloist before founding Le Cercle de l’Harmonie in 2005, which he co-directed with Jérémie Rhorer for ten years.
Fulfilling his ambition to revive a renowned 18th-century ensemble, Julien Chauvin established a new orchestra in 2015: Le Concert de la Loge. This revival seeks to explore forgotten works from the French lyrical and instrumental repertoire while also introducing innovative concert formats that encourage spontaneity and audience imagination.
In parallel, he continues his collaboration with the Quatuor Cambini-Paris, founded in 2007, with which he performs and records the quartets of Jadin, David, Gouvy, Mozart, Gounod, and Haydn.
Julien Chauvin delves into musical direction in the spirit of the late 18th century, characterized by a wide variety of conducting practices. He adapts his approach according to the repertoire, ensemble size, and the requirements of the score, conducting from the violin, with the bow, or using a baton.
He takes on the musical direction of operatic productions such as Era la notte, staged by Juliette Deschamps with Anna Caterina Antonacci; Phèdre by Lemoyne and Cendrillon by Isouard, in productions by the Palazzetto Bru Zane and directed by Marc Paquien; Armida by Haydn, staged by Mariame Clément; Chimène ou le Cid by Sacchini, directed by Sandrine Anglade; and Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio, directed by Christophe Rulhes.
He is also a guest conductor for numerous ensembles, including the Kammerorchester Basel, the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, the Orchestre National d’Avignon-Provence, the Orchestre National de Metz, the Orchestre National de Cannes, the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Limoges, the Esterházy Hofkapelle, the Orkiestra Historyczna from Katowice, the Folger Consort in Washington, Les Violons du Roy in Montreal, and the Arion Baroque Orchestra in Montreal.
Julien Chauvin’s discography includes concert works by Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Berlioz, released by the Alpha, Naïve, Eloquentia, and Ambroisie labels. He also frequently records lyrical recitals with leading soloists, operas, and works from the sacred repertoire.
In addition to his concert activities, Julien Chauvin is deeply involved in pedagogy, offering orchestral sessions and masterclasses at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris and Lyon, the École Normale de Musique in Paris, the Académie de l’Opéra de Paris, and with the Orchestre Français des Jeunes.
Julien Chauvin is a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.
He plays a Giuseppe Guadagnini violin from 1780, loaned to him as part of the “Adopt a Musician” project.
2025
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