A rare honor for a contemporary composer: the Orchestre de Paris will begin its new season with the world premiere of Orages, a concert overture by Bechara El-Khoury. A favorite of some of the leading figures in the Parisian music scene like Paavo Järvi and Daniele Gatti from the Orchestre National de France, Bechara El-Khoury has become a kind of "enfant chéri" to his adopted city and its diverse communities.

Paavo Järvi will also conduct the concerts on September 11 and 12 at Salle Pleyel. It would have been difficult for Didier de Cottignies, the Orchestre de Paris' artistic director, to have come up with a better opening for the 2013-2014 season.