The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande was founded in 1918 by Ernest Ansermet, who led the ensemble for nearly a half century, until 1967. Following him, Paul Kletzki (1967–70), Wolfgang Sawallisch (1970–80), Horst Stein (1980–85), Armin Jordan (1985–97), Fabio Luisi (1997–2002), and Pinchas Steinberg (2002–05) took on artistic leadership as principal conductors. Marek Janowski has occupied the position of artistic and music director since September 1, 2005. From the start, modern music has played a central role in the repertoire of the Orchestra, which has given the world premieres of works by Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, Frank Martin, and Benjamin Britten; this tradition has continued in recent years with pieces by Peter Eötvös, Heinz Holliger, Michael Jarrell, and William Blank. At present 112 permanent musicians fill the ranks of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; their activities include the concert series they play in Victoria Hall in Geneva and at the Palais de Beaulieu in Lausanne and performances of music theater at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, as well as the annual concerts of the UNO. The Orchestra has toured to the most prominent concert halls in Europe, America, and Asia; the 2009-10 season has included guest appearances in Montreux, Gstaad, Zurich, Bucharest, Prague, Milan, Turin, Zagreb, and Budapest. In addition, the ensemble has maintained a close relationship with LUCERNE FESTIVAL since the latter was founded in 1938 as an International Music Festival (IMF). The Orchestre’s concerts are regularly broadcast over the Suisse Romande’s radio and television network; since the Ansermet era, its recordings—which include legendary interpretations of French music—have received many awards.
LUCERNE FESTIVAL (IMF) debut on August 19, 1938 in a Beethoven program conducted by Fritz Busch.
July 2010