In 2022 in Andermatt — a famous intersection on the Gotthard railway, in the middle of the Swiss Alps and thus well-nigh predestined to be a site of cultural exchange — the Swiss Orchestra is moving into its new home as the Orchestra in Residence at the local Concert Hall. This dynamic ensemble — which the TV presenter Jann Billeter has described as “Switzerland’s national team for music” — performs across the whole country, from Geneva to Basel and from Graubünden to Zurich. They are musical bridge-builders, overcoming both Switzerland’s linguistic barriers and all manner of prejudices against classical music. The exciting, innovative concert programmes of the Swiss Orchestra aim to generate enthusiasm among a broad public for all kinds of orchestral music. Its aim is to rediscover forgotten, barely acknowledged Swiss composers from the Classical and Romantic periods. The Swiss Orchestra wants to make these unknown facets of Swiss history accessible once more to a broad audience by presenting programmes that place rare Swiss works alongside well-known masterpieces of the world repertoire.
With its nationwide presence and its focus on “Swiss symphonic music”, the Swiss Orchestra has a unique selling point on today’s orchestral landscape. The Swiss Orchestra has established itself on the orchestral landscape in a very short space of time. Together with soloists such as Heinz Holliger (oboe), Viviane Chassot (accordion), Oliver Schnyder (piano), Marie-Claude Chappuis (mezzo-soprano), Alina Pogostkina, Michael Barenboim (violin), Raphaela Gromes (cello), Rolando Villazón, Piotr Beczala (tenor), Stephan Eicher (Chansonnier) and Bernhard Russi (narrator), the Swiss Orchestra has performed at the Zurich Tonhalle, the Casino de Montbenon in Lausanne, the St. Gallen Tonhalle, the Bern Casino, the Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Stadtcasino Basel and the Andermatt Concert Hall. The Swiss Orchestra has also given concerts abroad, from Spain (the Auditorio Nacional de España in Madrid and the Kursaal in San Sebastián) to Monaco (Opéra de Monte Carlo) and even Saudi Arabia (the Maraya Concert Hall at AlUla).
