Orchestre National de Lyon

The orchestra operates with the help of a subsidy from the French Ministry of Culture and from the Rhône-Alpes regional council.

The orchestra's precursor was the Société des Grands Concerts de Lyon, which Georges Martin Witkowski established in 1905.

In 1983, the orchestra was renamed l'Orchestre National de Lyon, its current name.

The American conductor David Robertson was ONL music director from 2000 to 2004, and concurrently the artistic director of l'Auditorium de Lyon, the first person to hold both posts simultaneously.

In December 2018, the ONL announced the appointment of Szeps-Znaider as its next music director, effective September 2020, with an initial contract of four seasons.