L'Orchestre De La Suisse Romande

Formed in the aftermath of a conflict that had engulfed most of Europe while sparing Switzerland, the ensemble took its title from the French-speaking region of the country. Its founder, Ernest Ansermet, through persistent effort amid the interwar economic turmoil, transformed the group from a local ensemble into a nationally recognized institution. At the time Geneva offered little more than an opera pit orchestra that occasionally mounted symphonic concerts, whereas Lausanne already possessed a solid resident group; Ansermet himself had been active as a conductor in Geneva since 1915. Once the decision to create the new orchestra was reached, he assembled a roster of sixty-two musicians who appeared for the first time on 30 November 1918 at Victoria Hall. The ambitious opening program featured music by Handel, Mozart, Benner, and Jaques-Dalcroze, concluding with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. One week later the conductor devoted an entire evening to Debussy, who had died the preceding March, thereby establishing a lasting commitment to contemporary scores that would define the orchestra’s identity throughout Ansermet’s half-century tenure. Although pressure existed to favor the Classical and Romantic canon favored elsewhere in Europe, Ansermet insisted on promoting living composers and trained his musicians accordingly. To resolve competing claims among the French-speaking cities and cantons, he instituted a network of Associations of Friends that secured municipal subsidies in exchange for regular performances. Over the decades the orchestra has presented numerous premieres of Swiss works and, in its role as the resident opera orchestra of the Grand Theatre, has introduced several significant productions, among them Martin’s Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, Milhaud’s La mère coupable, and Liebermann’s La Forêt. For the orchestra’s fiftieth anniversary in 1968 Ansermet once more conducted Scheherazade. At his invitation Paul Kletzki assumed leadership in 1967 and remained until 1970; Wolfgang Sawallisch then took the post of artistic director, concentrating on Austro-German repertoire and earning strong public loyalty. Horst Stein continued that emphasis from 1980 to 1985, receiving particular praise for his opera work. Armin Jordan (1985–1997) and Fabio Luisi maintained a balance between symphonic and theatrical programming. Pinchas Steinberg was appointed artistic director in September 2002. Marek Janowski was engaged for the period 2005–2015 yet relinquished the post after the 2011–2012 season. In 2010 Neeme Järvi was named artistic and musical director while Kazuki Yamada became principal guest conductor.