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Swiss Orchestra — Orchestra in Residence
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, formed by first-class instrumentalists of ages between 25 and 45, sees itself as an orchestra for the whole of Switzerland, building musical bridges from Basel to Graubünden to Geneva. Its aim is to overcome not just language barriers, but also 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 poin t 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), Piotr Beczala (tenor) 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. Concerts abroad brought the orchestra to Madrid (Auditorio Nacional de España) or San Sebastián (Kursaal).
Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer — Music Director
Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer has been the intendant of ANDERMATT MUSIC since 2022 and thus responsible for concert planning in the Andermatt Concert Hall. She is also the Music Director of the Swiss Orchestra, Andermatt’s orchestra-in-residence that plays many of Andermatt’s
symphonic programmes.
As a pioneer of the Swiss symphonic repertoire, the Swiss Orchestra works with renowned soloists to perform little-known treasures of Swiss music together with masterpieces of the standard repertoire. Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer is in demand internationally as a guest conductor, and her engagements have taken her to renowned orchestras such as the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Thailand Philharmonic, Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Filharmonia Pomorska, Camerata Switzerland, Basel Sinfonietta, Sinfonietta Bern, Sinfonietta de Lausanne, Sinfonietta Cracovia, Symphony Orchestra Bern, Ensemble Corund Luzern Orchestra of Europe and the Zakhar Bron Festival Orchestra.
Born in Zurich in 1983, Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer studied the violin and conducting at the Basel Music Academy, and musicology and economics at the University of Basel, where she also took her doctorate in musicology. She furthered her conducting studies with Sylvia Caduff and Sir Roger Norrington, and has worked as assistant conductor to Claudio Abbado. In addition to her concert activities, she also publishes in the history of reception and interpretation and undertakes research into Swiss music history. She edited the book “Mahler-Interpretation heute”, which the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” d eclared to be one of the “most fascinating” books in the recent reception of Mahler. In June 2019, she published the monograph “Klingender Zeitgeist” on Mahler ’s Fourth Symphony. She has often lectured at the University of Basel.
