The Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique was founded in 1989 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, to bring to the music of the 19th and early 20th centuries the same intensity of expression and stylistic accuracy found with his renown period-instrument chamber ensemble, the English Baroque Soloists.

One of the Orchestra's outstanding successes has undoubtedly been its acclaimed Berlioz interpretations. This series began with the Symphonie Fantastique, performed and filmed in the former Conservatoire de la Musique in Paris where the very first performance took place in December 1830. In 1993 it gave the first modern performances of the rediscovered Messe Solennelle, and ten years later the group performed L'enfance du Christ at the Proms and the first complete performances of Les Troyens at the Châtelet in Paris.

The ORR has won plaudits for its complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies, and made critically acclaimed recordings of the Schumann symphonies as well as music by Verdi, Weber and Mendelssohn. In 2003 the Orchestra took part in a highly successful dramatisation of the writing of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony for BBC television.

From 2006 to 2008, with the Monteverdi Choir and John Eliot Gardiner, the ORR took part in a mammoth ‘Brahms: Roots and Memories’ project, performing Brahms’ music along works by other composers which might have inspired him. Much of this project was recorded by the ensembles’ dedicated record label, Soli Deo Gloria (SDG).

The Orchestra and John Eliot Gardiner are currently involved in an exciting 5-year collaboration with the Opéra Comique in Paris. Since 2007 they have performed in fully-staged opera performances of Emmanuel Chabrier's L'Etoile (2007), Bizet’s Carmen (2009) and Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (2010). In April 2011 they will continue with staged performances of Weber’s Romantic opera Le Freischütz. Further projects in 2011 include a Beethoven Symphonies USA tour and a Stravinsky, Brahms and Bruckner tour.