Orchestre National de Belgique

The Belgian National Orchestra (Dutch: Nationaal Orkest van België, French: Orchestre National de Belgique) is a Belgian orchestra, based in Brussels. Its principal concert venue is the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts. The orchestra also gives concerts outside of Brussels in such cities as Sankt-Vith and Hasselt. The Orchestra was founded in 1931 by Désiré Defauw as the Brussels Symphony Orchestra, and later reorganized in 1936 into its present form. With its base in the Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels and subsidized by the Belgian government, the BNO performs 70 concerts each season in Belgium and abroad, employing 96 musicians. It specializes in the music of the 19th and 20th centuries and film scores. In 2003, contestants in the final round of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition were accompanied by the orchestra, under the direction of Gilbert Varga. Prior to the 1958 appointment of André Cluytens as its music director and permanent conductor, the NOB worked with various conductors including Désiré Defauw, Karl Böhm, Erich Kleiber, and Pierre Monteux. In February 2016, the NOB announced the appointment of Hugh Wolff as its next music director, effective with the 2017–2018 season.