Orchestre De La Suisse Romande

Founded in 1918 by Ernest Ansermet, who was its principal conductor until 1967, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is made up of 112 permanent musicians. It gives subscription concerts in Geneva and Lausanne, symphonic programmes for the City of Geneva, the annual United Nations Day concert and accompanies operatic performances at the Grand Théâtre of Geneva. Over the decades, the OSR has built up an international reputation thanks to its historic recordings and its interpretation of the 20th-century French and Russian repertories.

The British conductor Jonathan Nott has served as the OSR’s Music and Artistic Director since January 2017, following in the steps of the OSR’s founding head and successive music directors: Paul Klecki (1967-1970), Wolfgang Sawallisch (1970-1980), Horst Stein (1980-1985), Armin Jordan (1985-1997), Fabio Luisi (1997-2002), Pinchas Steinberg (2002-2005), Marek Janowski (2005-2012) and Neeme Järvi (2012-2015). Under their guidance, the OSR has been a key player in the history of music through its discovery, first performance and support of contemporary composers. Works by Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, Frank Martin, André-François Marescotti, Benjamin Britten, Witold Lutoslawski, Heinz Holliger, William Blank, Peter Eötvös, James Macmillan Pascal Dusapin and Michael Jarrell constitute just some of the OSR’s world premières. The OSR has continually pursued as one of its important missions the promotion and performance of new symphonic music, especially by Swiss composers.

The OSR’s international tours have taken it to the leading concert halls in Europe (Berlin, London, Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, Amsterdam) and Asia (Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing), as well as the most important music centres in the Americas (Boston, New York, San Francisco, Washington, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Montevideo). The OSR is highly sought after by the most prestigious festivals, (Canaries, Lucerne Easter and Summer, Radio France and Montpellier, the Menuhin in Gstaad, Montreux’s Septembre Musical and the BBC Proms in London).