Renoir at the Musée d'Orsay: Six Concerts to Blend Music and Impressionist Light in Spring 2026

This spring, from April 9 to June 9, 2026, the Musée d’Orsay will resonate with music, as six concerts spotlight the Renoir who was as much a musician as a painter—an artist who saw light as melody and sang through his brushstrokes. During exhibitions “Renoir and Love: Modern Happiness (1865-1885)” and “Renoir as a Draftsman,” every note becomes a splash of color, every harmony a reflection, turning Impressionism into a symphonic experience.

Renoir and love: the retrospective exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris
When love becomes light, Renoir turns it into art. With the exhibition "Renoir et l'amour" (March 17 - July 19, 2026), the Musée d'Orsay brings together his major masterpieces for a retrospective as modern as it is tender, in collaboration with the National Gallery in London and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. [Read more]

Renoir was no mere enthusiast: trained from a young age in singing by Charles Gounod at Saint-Eustache Church, he could have pursued a career as an opera singer. Instead, he chose the painter’s palette, never abandoning his love for music. He composed for a renowned Parisian tenor, directed the orchestra at Moulin de la Galette, and transformed his studio into a vibrant soundscape where models and light danced in harmony. Around fifty of his paintings evoke his musical passions—from lively street fêtes to the gentle romantics of Schumann and Brahms.

Renoir Dessinateur: the first exhibition dedicated to Renoir's drawings at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris
And what if Renoir had achieved more than just color? From March 17 to July 5, 2026, the Musée d'Orsay unveils Renoir Dessinateur, the first exhibition entirely devoted to his works on paper. A spotlight on the stroke of a master too long confined to his palette, through some one hundred drawings, sketches, studies and watercolors from around the world. [Read more]

His musical universe is twofold: on one side, Parisian popular music—the lively guinguettes, dance halls, cafés-concerts, and operettas that populate his festive scenes; on the other, the more refined harmonies of German Romanticism, discovered through figures like Edmond Maître and Frédéric Bazille, which added depth and nuance to his perspective. Light and sound intertwine with the same elegance as his brushstrokes, capturing a delicate balance between movement and emotion.

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The concert program:

• April 9 – 8 p.m. (Auditorium): Sandrine Piau and the Quatuor Psophos pay tribute to Debussy, alongside works by Chausson, Chabrier, and Lili Boulanger.
  
  
• May 19 – 12:30 p.m. (Auditorium): The Paris Chamber Orchestra performs compositions by Gounod and Adolphe Blanc.

• May 28 – 8 p.m. (Auditorium): The Pelléas Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Lévy, with soprano Magali Léger, celebrates operetta and the lively tunes of the guinguettes.
  
  
• June 2 – 8 p.m. (Nave): The Paris Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Thomas Hengelbrock, welcomes cellist Anastasia Kobekina to perform Thierry Escaich’s symphonic poem—an international premiere marking the museum's 40th anniversary.
  
  
• June 4 – 8 p.m. (Auditorium): Mezzo-soprano Marie-Nicole Lemieux, accompanied by pianist Daniel Blumenthal and violist Tony Nys, explores love’s many shades through works by Brahms and Massenet.
  
  
• June 9 – 12:30 p.m. (Auditorium): Soprano Axelle Fanyo and pianist Susan Manoff bring the season to a close with an evening of light, sensitive, and refined music.

Between brushstrokes and bow strokes, this series transforms the museum into an impressionist symphony—each note echoing the vibrant world of Renoir.