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. The Swiss Orchestra is made up of first-class instrumentalists aged between 25 and 45 who have all played in prestigious symphonic and chamber ensembles. This dynamic ensemble 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 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), Vivian Chassot (accordion), Oliver Schnyder (piano), Marie-Claude Chappuis (mezzo-soprano), Alina Pogostkina, Michael Barenboim (violin) and Bernhard Russ (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 orchestra’s first foreign tour took it to Madrid (Auditorio Nacional de España) and San Sebastián (Kursaal) in 2022.