Maison de la Radio et de la Musique, nicknamed “maison ronde” is the headquarters of Radio France. Built in the shape of huge ring 500 metres in circumference, with a central utility tower, the building houses the administrative offices, broadcasting studios, and performance spaces for all of Radio France’s national stations and its four permanent ensembles—Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre national de France, Chœur de Radio France and Maîtrise de Radio France. The building was designed by Henry Bernard and completed in 1963. Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 dystopian science fiction film Alphaville was partially shot at Maison de la Radio.

I went to two concerts, first a Sunday matinee featuring musicians from the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France alongside pianist Beatrice Rana. This was in the main auditorium and my ticket cost 10 Euros, the cheapest available, but the line of sight and overall quality of the sound was still excellent.

The second concert was a free one in the smaller performance space. This was a celebration of the life of Billie Holliday, and featured the School choirs of the National Education system. Keep an eye for other free concerts, especially radio programmes that are recorded in front of a live audience, like Générations France Musique, le Live, and Le masque et la plume.