Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
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The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Orchestra of French-speaking Switzerland) was founded in 1918 by Ernest Ansermet. The first concert took place in the Victoria Hall in Geneva, Switzerland, conducted by its founder.
The orchestra tours widely and has a long-standing contract for recordings with Decca Records. It premiered many works of the Swiss composers Arthur Honegger and Frank Martin.
During World War II, many German conductors had to flee and settled in Switzerland. Wilhelm Furtwängler became a regular guest conductor for the orchestra, conducting his favorite repertoire of Beethoven, Brahms, and Strauss. Carl Schuricht also was a guest conductor, even trying to acquaint his audiences with Bruckner and Mahler.
Directors:
- Ernest Ansermet (1918-1967)
- Pinchas Steinberg (2002-2004)
- Marek Janowski (2004-)