Orchester de la Suisse Romande

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Logo of the Orchester de la Suisse Romande

The Orchester de la Suisse Romande ( OSR ) is a 1918 by Ernest Ansermet founded leading symphony orchestras of Switzerland . In the second half of the 20th century it gained international importance under Ansermet's leadership. The OSR is administered as a foundation and is mainly supported by the canton and city of Geneva . It performs regularly in Geneva’s Victoria Hall and the Lausanne Théâtre de Beaulieu as well as other cities in French-speaking Switzerland . It is also associated with Radio Télévision Suisse and acts as the opera orchestra at the Grand Théâtre de Genève .

history

The Orchester de la Suisse Romande is one of the leading symphony orchestras in the country , alongside the older orchestras Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and Sinfonieorchester Basel , whose main venues are all located in German-speaking Switzerland . Under Ansermet's leadership, it developed an international reputation.

It was founded in 1918 by the Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet and enabled French-speaking Switzerland (Suisse romande) to join the international concert scene. The founder of the orchestra was inspired by the Geneva patron Maurice Pictet-de-Rochemont . The Geneva city councilor Paul Lachenal (FDP), who became president of the orchestra, appeared as a further founding member . On November 30, 1918, the orchestra's first concert took place. It was Handel's Concerto grosso and an aria from its Belshazzar , Mozart's 38th Symphony , Benners Nox , Jaques-Dalcroze Ronde printanière and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade played.

The orchestra became an excellent ensemble for new music early on . Right from the start, the OSR supported Swiss composers such as Arthur Honegger , Ernest Bloch , Jean Binet , Aloys Fornerod , Henri Gagnebin , André-François Marescotti and Frank Martin and later Jean Derbès , Éric Gaudibert , Norbert Moret and Michel Wiblé . Ansermet made the orchestra, with its international cast, an important "French" ensemble and incorporated works by Claude Debussy , Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky into its program design. For example, on November 12, 1921, Ravel's La Valse was premiered . Further premieres of Vincent d'Indy ( Medea Suite) and Igor Stravinsky ( Le sacre du printemps ) and, as an exception, Arnold Schönberg ( Chamber Symphony ) followed. He also established the modern Russian repertoire. Its contemporary orientation, which largely bypassed the Second Viennese School , met with divided opinion from the Geneva authorities and the public.

With the New York stock market crash in 1929 and the ensuing global economic crisis , the continued existence of the orchestra was called into question, so that in 1932 a contract was signed with Radio Geneva to broadcast subscription concerts. In 1934 the orchestra began its additional activity as an opera orchestra in the Grand Théâtre. After Radio Geneva discontinued its funding in 1935 and since Radio Lausanne was developing a competing orchestra, he developed the so-called Ansermet Plan . Ansermet planned three areas for the orchestra: symphonic concerts should be heard primarily in the major cities of Geneva and Lausanne . He planned further venues for the municipalities of Neuchâtel , La Chaux-de-Fonds , Montreux , Vevey , Friborg , Biel and Sion . Radio programs should be broadcast via Radio Suisse Romande . At the Grand Théâtre de Genève ballet and opera performances were planned. At the end of the 1930s, Ansermet contacted Lucerne City President Jakob Zimmerli to negotiate a summer engagement for his musicians. This initiative gave rise to the Lucerne International Musical Festival , in which the OSR first took part in 1938 in conjunction with the Lucerne Kursaal Orchestra . Among other things, the orchestra played in Lausanne under the direction of Arturo Toscanini . In 1938 the orchestra entered into a livelihood cooperation with Swiss radio.

After initial weaknesses, the orchestra achieved international renown after the Second World War at the latest. From 1955 to 1979, Pierre Colombo , who was also President of the Tribune internationale des compositeurs , was the orchestra's director. Conductors such as Wilhelm Furtwängler , Franz von Hoeßlin , Herbert von Karajan , André Cluytens , Felix von Weingartner and Carl Schuricht appeared in the subscription concerts. From 1953 to 1958, Hedy Salquin was the first woman to conduct the orchestra. After the Orchester de la Suisse Romande left the Salle Métropole , it inaugurated the Théâtre de Beaulieu in Lausanne with a concert in 1954 under the direction of Ansermet and with the participation of pianist Clara Haskil . The Swiss cultural foundation Pro Helvetia subsidized individual performances by the orchestra at European festivals (Edinburgh 1948 and Paris 1952). In 1950 the orchestra traveled to Aix, 1958 to Brussels, 1959 to Poland, 1960 to Athens and 1965 to Lyon. A changed funding policy enabled the orchestra to go on extensive concert tours from the 1960s, repeatedly to the USA and Japan. The orchestra signed an exclusive contract with the British record label Decca Records , as did the top European orchestras at the time. Significant recordings were made, including 20th century music. Ansermet's work has been documented in over 300 recordings, most recently in his Beethoven and Brahms recordings. The recordings have received the French Grand Prix du Disque award several times . In 1967 he gave his provisional farewell concert at the Orchester de la Suisse Romande , followed by an anniversary concert in 1968.

After Ansermet's death in 1969, Paul Klecki took over the orchestra (quasi on an interim basis) at his request. Under the German successor Wolfgang Sawallisch (1970–1980) - who had already been Ansermet's favorite, but then canceled due to other commitments - and the romantic specialist Horst Stein (1980–1985), the German repertoire in particular was cultivated. Sawallisch, for example, introduced the music of Mahler and Bruckner. A compromise between the two directions was found with the Swiss Armin Jordan . Jordan was responsible for most of the orchestra's productions. After Jordan resigned in 1997, the Italian Fabio Luisi became music director. Luisi performed the Verdi and Puccini operas Nabucco (1994) and Tosca (2001) with the orchestra , and he also recorded Jérusalem and Alzira on CD. Arthur Honegger's entire symphonies were recorded for Espace 2 . Concert tours have taken the orchestra abroad, for example with the Orchester de Chambre de Lausanne to the Fête des Vignerons . His successor Pinchas Steinberg (2000–2005) made guest appearances with the orchestra in major European cities and was invited to the Chorégies d'Orange opera festival for the first time in 2003 .

Jonathan Nott took over the post of Chief Conductor in January 2017 as the successor to Neeme Järvi, who retired in 2015, while Kazuki Yamada is Principal Guest Conductor. The orchestra was most recently involved in the Œuvres Suisses project. A new orchestral venue, the Cité de la Musique de Genève concert hall, is to be built in Geneva by 2022 .

Music directors

Ernest Ansermet, music director of the orchestra for 49 years

Foundation, endowment

The Orchester de la Suisse Romande is administered by a non-profit (supporting) foundation , which is based in Geneva and was entered in the commercial register on September 19, 1938 . Their funds come in particular from the canton (approx. 1/3) and the city of Geneva (approx. 1/3) as well as the Swiss Radio and Television Company , the Friends of the OSR and the canton of Vaud . At the head of the Fondation de l'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (FOSR) is the Board of Trustees , whose current President is Olivier Hari . Management is the responsibility of the artistic commission, the board of directors and the management commission, as well as a control body ( Deloitte ). The OSR committee consists of nine orchestral musicians who are represented in the management group. There is also a Swissperform representative. The FOSR has a member of the board of trustees of the international music competition Concours de Genève .

World premieres (selection)

  • Igor Stravinsky : The Firebird , 2nd Suite (1919)
  • Arthur Honegger : Horace Victorieux (1921)
  • Arthur Honegger: Chant de joie (1923)
  • Frank Martin : 1st piano concerto (1936)
  • Bohuslav Martinů : Duo concertant (1938)
  • Frank Martin: Symphony (1938)
  • Darius Milhaud : Concerto for violin, flute and orchestra (1940)
  • Pierre Wissmer : 1st Violin Concerto (1944)
  • Frank Martin: In Terra Pax (1945)
  • Frank Martin: Golgotha (1948)
  • Frank Martin: Le Mystère de la Nativité (1959)
  • Frank Martin: Les Quatre Éléments (1959)
  • Heinz Holliger : Three Love Songs (1962)
  • Benjamin Britten : Cantata misericordia (1963)
  • Witold Lutosławski : Postlude No. 1 (1963)
  • Anatol Vieru : Cello Concerto (1963)
  • Pierre Wissmer: 2nd Symphony (1963)
  • Marius Constant : Condide (1971)
  • Pierre Wissmer: Triptyque romand (1973)
  • Heinrich Sutermeister : 2nd cello concerto (1974)
  • Heinrich Sutermeister: Ecclesia (1975)
  • Heinrich Sutermeister: Clarinet Concerto (1977)
  • Heinrich Sutermeister: Consolatio philosophiae (1979)
  • Heinrich Sutermeister: Six Love Letters (1980)
  • Heinz Holliger: Pottery Shards (1985)
  • William Blank : Omaggi (1986)
  • Norbert Moret : Diotima's Love Songs (1988)
  • Heinz Holliger: Five songs , movements 1 and 2 (1993)
  • Heinz Holliger: Violin Concerto (1995)
  • Michael Jarrell : Instantanés (1986)
  • Jean-Luc Darbellay : Oyama (2000)
  • William Blank: Ebben (n) (2001)
  • William Blank: Exodes (2003)
  • Michael Jarrell:… Le ciel, tout à l'heure encore si limpide, soudain se trouble horriblement… (2009)
  • William Blank: Reflecting Black (2009)
  • Jean-Luc Darbellay: Dernière lettre à Théo (2010)
  • Michael Jarrell: Emergences - Review VI (2014)
  • Richard Dubugnon : Arcanes Symphoniques (2015)
  • Jean-Luc Darbellay: Anges. L'univers mystérieux de Paul Klee (2016)

Main venues

Awards

Record prices

Nominations

  • 2017: Nomination for the Grammy Award 2017 (Best Orchestral Performance) for Neeme Järvi conducts Ibert

Leaderboards

literature

  • Orchester de la Suisse Romande. In: Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved October 6, 2018 .
  • Herbert Haffner: Orchestra of the World. The international orchestra leader . Parthas-Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-932529-03-0 , pp. 170-175.
  • François Hudry (translated by Theresa Snow Toy): Orchester de la Suisse Romande . In: Robert R. Craven (Ed.): Symphony Orchestras of the World: Selected Profiles . Greenwood Press, New York et al. a. 1987, ISBN 0-313-24073-6 , pp. 312-316.
  • Alain Pâris: Classical music in the 20th century: instrumentalists, singers, conductors, orchestras, choirs . 2nd, expanded, completely revised edition, dtv, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-423-32501-1 , p. 952 f.

Web links

Commons : Orchester de la Suisse Romande  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christoph Ballmer:  Switzerland, IV. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, material part, volume 8 (flute suite). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 1998, ISBN 3-7618-1109-8  ( online edition , subscription required for full access); see. also the traditionally important orchestras in Bern, Lausanne and Lugano: Ernst Lichtenhahn : Musik. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . April 20, 2011 , accessed October 5, 2018 .
  2. ↑ See The world's greatest orchestras , gramophone.co.uk, accessed October 19, 2018; Herbert Haffner: Orchestra of the World. The international orchestra leader . Parthas-Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-932529-03-0 , p. 170 ff.
  3. ↑ François Hudry (translated by Theresa Snow Toy): Orchester de la Suisse Romande . In: Robert R. Craven (ed.): Symphony Orchestras of the World: Selected Profiles . Greenwood Press, New York et al. a. 1987, ISBN 0-313-24073-6 , pp. 312-316, here: p. 312.
  4. ^ A b c Herbert Haffner: Orchester der Welt. The international orchestra leader . Parthas-Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-932529-03-0 , p. 170.
  5. ↑ Martine Piguet / GL: Lachenal, Paul. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . September 2, 2010 , accessed October 5, 2018 .
  6. ↑ a b c François Hudry (translated by Theresa Snow Toy): Orchester de la Suisse Romande . In: Robert R. Craven (ed.): Symphony Orchestras of the World: Selected Profiles . Greenwood Press, New York et al. a. 1987, ISBN 0-313-24073-6 , pp. 312-316, here: p. 313.
  7. ↑ François Hudry (translated by Theresa Snow Toy): Orchester de la Suisse Romande . In: Robert R. Craven (ed.): Symphony Orchestras of the World: Selected Profiles . Greenwood Press, New York et al. a. 1987, ISBN 0-313-24073-6 , pp. 312-316, here: p. 314.
  8. ^ Herbert Haffner: Orchester der Welt. The international orchestra leader . Parthas-Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-932529-03-0 , pp. 170f.
  9. ^ Herbert Haffner: Orchester der Welt. The international orchestra leader . Parthas-Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-932529-03-0 , p. 171.
  10. ↑ Wolfgang Schreiber: Great conductors. Piper Verlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-492-25072-6 , p. 172 f.
  11. ^ Max Lütolf , Rudolf Flotzinger : Switzerland. In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 5, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2006, ISBN 3-7001-3067-8 .
  12. ^ Herbert Haffner: Orchester der Welt. The international orchestra leader . Parthas-Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-932529-03-0 , pp. 171f.
  13. ↑ Verena Naegele: Lucerne as a "counter-festival": myth and reality. The beginnings of the Lucerne International Musical Festival . In: Chris Walton , Antonio Baldassarre (Ed.): Music in Exile: Switzerland and Abroad 1918–1945 . Lang, Bern a. a. 2005, ISBN 3-03910-492-6 , pp. 237-254, here: p. 247.
  14. ^ Herbert Haffner: Orchester der Welt. The international orchestra leader . Parthas-Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-932529-03-0 , p. 172.
  15. ^ Joseph E. Potts: European Radio Orchestras-III . In: The Musical Times 96 (1955) 1353, pp. 584-586, here: p. 585.
  16. ^ A b Emily Freeman Brown: A Dictionary for the Modern Conductor . Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham 2015, ISBN 978-0-8108-8400-7 , p. 253.
  17. ^ Jean-Louis Matthey / MF: Music. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . December 18, 2003 , accessed October 5, 2018 .
  18. ^ Elke Mascha Blankenburg : Female conductors in the 20th century. Portraits from Marin Alsop to Simone Young . European Publishing House, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 3-434-50536-9 , p. 193.
  19. ↑ Irène Minder-Jeanneret / PTO: Salquin, Hedy. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . September 26, 2014 , accessed October 5, 2018 .
  20. ↑ Historique , theatredebeaulieu.ch, accessed on October 19, 2018.
  21. ↑ Thomas Kadelbach: Orchestras on tour in the La Suisse au miroir du monde project . Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  22. ^ A b Herbert Haffner: Orchester der Welt. The international orchestra leader . Parthas-Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-932529-03-0 , p. 173.
  23. ↑ Peter Tschmuck: Creativity and Innovation in the Music Industry (= Discourse: Culture - Economy - Politics . Volume 3). Studien-Verlag, Innsbruck u. a. 2003, ISBN 3-7065-1836-8 , p. 152.
  24. ↑ a b The world's greatest orchestras , gramophone.co.uk, accessed October 19, 2018.
  25. ↑ Antonio Baldassarre: Paul Klecki: conductor and composer in exile. Attempt to interpret his work in a biographical context . In: Chris Walton , Antonio Baldassarre (Ed.): Music in Exile: Switzerland and Abroad 1918–1945 . Lang, Bern a. a. 2005, ISBN 3-03910-492-6 , pp. 11-38, here: p. 30.
  26. ^ Jean-Jacques Langendorf , Alfred Cattani : Germany. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . October 29, 2015 , accessed October 5, 2018 .
  27. ^ Herbert Haffner: Orchester der Welt. The international orchestra leader . Parthas-Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-932529-03-0 , p. 174.
  28. ↑ Wolfgang Sawallisch , osr.ch, accessed on October 19, 2018.
  29. ↑ François Hudry (translated by Theresa Snow Toy): Orchester de la Suisse Romande . In: Robert R. Craven (ed.): Symphony Orchestras of the World: Selected Profiles . Greenwood Press, New York et al. a. 1987, ISBN 0-313-24073-6 , pp. 312-316, here: p. 315.
  30. ↑ Armin Jordan , osr.ch, accessed on October 19, 2018.
  31. ^ Andres Briner : From a multicultural bridge country. Aspects of past and present musical creation in Switzerland . In: Giselher Schubert (ed.): French and German music in the 20th century (= Frankfurter Studien . Volume 7). Schott, Main u. a. 2001, ISBN 3-7957-0433-2 , pp. 94-108, here: p. 97.
  32. ↑ Fabio Luisi , osr.ch, accessed on October 19, 2018.
  33. ↑ Pinchas Steinberg , osr.ch, accessed on October 19, 2018.
  34. ↑ Orchestra , oeuvressuisses.ch, accessed on October 6, 2018.
  35. ↑ The design for the new concert hall in Geneva has been finalized . nzz.ch, October 17, 2017.
  36. ↑ a b See Convention de subventionnement pour les années 2017–2020 de la Fondation de l'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande ( PDF ).
  37. ↑ The Foundation , osr.ch, accessed on October 6, 2018.
  38. ↑ The Competition , concoursgeneve.ch, accessed on October 6, 2018.
  39. ↑ Ernest Ansermet, Grand Prix du Disque 1954 pour son enregistrement de Daphnis et Chloë , notrehistoire.ch, accessed on October 4, 2018.
  40. ↑ Grand Prix 2007 , charlescros-org.site-preview.net, accessed on 21 October 2018th
  41. ↑ Search for the artist “Orchester de la Suisse Romande” in the Echo Prize Winner Database, echoklassik.de, accessed on October 4, 2018.
  42. ↑ Best List 1-2008 , schallplattenkritik.de, accessed on October 4, 2018.
  43. ↑ Diapason 555 , diapasonmag.fr, accessed on October 19, 2018.
  44. ↑ Diapason 556 , diapasonmag.fr, accessed October 19, 2018.