Founded in 1918 by Ernest Ansermet, who remained its titular conductor until 1967, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande comprises 112 permanent musicians. It gives subscription concerts in Geneva and Lausanne, the symphony concerts of the City of Geneva and the annual UN concert, and plays for the operatic performances at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
Its Artistic and Music Director is the British conductor Jonathan Nott. The Principal Guest Conductor is the Japanese maestro Kazuki Yamada.
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande has enjoyed a worldwide reputation under its founding conductor and its successive music directors (Paul Kletzki 1967-70, Wolfgang Sawallisch 1970-80, Horst Stein 1980-85, Armin Jordan 1985-97, Fabio Luisi 1997-2002, Pinchas Steinberg 2002- 05, Marek Janowski 2005-12, Neeme Järvi 2012- 15). It has always made an active contribution to the history of music by discovering or championing contemporary composers: works by Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, Frank Martin, Benjamin Britten, Heinz Holliger, Peter Eötvös, James MacMillan, Pascal Dusapin and Michael Jarrell have been premiered by the OSR in Geneva. One of its most important missions is still to support the creation of new orchestral music, particularly by Swiss composers. The OSR is the partner of Pro Helvetia for the ‘Swiss Works’ project until 2017.
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande has worked in close collaboration with what is now Radio Télévision Suisse since its earliest days, and soon appeared in radio broadcasts heard by millions of listeners all over the world. It further consolidated its presence on the international musical scene thanks to a partnership with Decca that gave rise to many legendary recordings. The OSR currently makes two or three recordings each season in partnership with PentaTone.
The international tours of the OSR take it to prestigious concert halls in Europe (Berlin, London, Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, Amsterdam), Asia (Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing) and the great cities of the American continent (Boston, New York, San Francisco, Washington, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Montevideo).
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande receives support from the Canton and City of Geneva, Radio Télévision Suisse, its friends associations and numerous sponsors and patrons. It also benefits from the support of the Canton of Vaud for the concerts it gives in Lausanne.
