Orchestre de la Suisse Romande & Neeme Järvi
Biography Orchestre de la Suisse Romande & Neeme Järvi
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Founded in 1918 by Ernest Ansermet, permanent conductor until 1967, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, with its 112 permanent musicians, ensures subscription concerts in Geneva and Lausanne, the City of Geneva symphony concerts, the annual fund-raising concert for the UN, as well as opera performances at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. Its reputation has been built up over the years thanks to its historic recordings and its interpretation of 20th-century French and Russian repertoire.
The orchestra's Music and Artistic Director will be Jonathan Nott from the 2016-2017 season. Its Principal Guest Conductor is Japanese maestro Kazuki Yamada.
Under the guidance of its founding conductor and subsequent music directors (Paul Kletzki 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, Neeme Järvi, 2012-2015), the world-famous Orchestre de la Suisse Romande is an active contributor to the history of music through the discovery or support of leading contemporary composers. The pieces by Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, Frank Martin, Benjamin Britten, Heinz Holliger, Peter Eötvös, James MacMillan, Pascal Dusapin, Michael Jarrell or Richard Dubugnon were premiered in Geneva by the OSR. It is one of its important mission: supporting the symphonic creation, and particularly the Swiss one. The OSR is a partner of Pro Helvetia until 2017 for the project “Oeuvres suisses”
From its very early days and in close collaboration with the Radio-Télévision Suisse Romande, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande has been broadcast on radio around the world, enabling millions of listeners to tune in. Thanks to a partnership with Decca, (over 100 recordings), the OSR has made legendary recordings. The orchestra has also recorded for dozens of labels, which have won major awards. The orchestra has developed a privileged partnership with PentaTone, recording up to two to three discs per season.
The OSR’s international tours have led them to perform in the most prestigious venues in Europe (Berlin, London, Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, Budapest and Amsterdam), Asia (Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing), as well as in major cities on the American continent (Boston, New York, San Francisco, Washington, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Montevideo). During the 2011-2012 season, the OSR gave its first performances in Moscow and St Petersburg. In July 2014 the orchestra made a triumphant visit to Japan (Suntory Hall) and Seoul (SeongNam Arts Center) and in February 2015, it engaged on a major US tour with Charles Dutoit and Nikolai Lugansky, on both the West and the East Coast. The OSR has been invited by many festivals, including Música de Canarias, the Lucerne Easter and Summer Festivals, the Festival de Radio France and Montpellier, the Menuhin Festival Gstaad, and the Septembre Musical de Montreux.
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande is funded by the canton and City of Geneva, Radio-Télévision Suisse Romande, associations of Friends of the Orchestra and many sponsors and patrons. For the concerts in Lausanne, the OSR receives generous support from the Canton of Vaud.
Neeme Järvi
The head of a musical dynasty, Neeme Järvi is one of today’s most highly respected maestros. He conducts the world’s most prominent orchestras and works alongside soloists of the highest calibre. A prolific recording artist, he has amassed a discography of nearly 500 recordings.
Over his long and highly successful career he has held positions with orchestras across the world. Last season he took up his tenure as Artistic and Music Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. He is also currently Artistic Director of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Emeritus of both the Residentie Orkest Netherland Hague and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He also holds the titles of Principal Conductor Emeritus of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
Recent and future seasons include engagements with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Wiener Symphoniker, as well as the major orchestras in the USA, and regular engagements with the NHK and Singapore symphony orchestras. He also continues his regular relationships with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchetra, Swedesh National Orchestra of Gothenburg and the Royal Scottish National orchestras (for a number of recording and concert projects).
Highlights of an impressive discography include critically acclaimed complete symphony cycles of Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Richard Strauss, Mahler, Dvořak, Glazunov, Grieg, Sibelius, Nielsen and Brahms. Järvi has also championed less widely known composers such as Wilhelm Stenhammar, Hugo Alfvén and Niels Gade, Franz Berwald, Johann Svendsen and Johann Halvorsen of Norway and composers from his native Estonia, including Rudolf Tobias, Artur Kapp and Eduard Tubin. Throughout his career he has recorded with Chandos, Deutsche Grammophon, BIS and EMI amongst others.
Future releases on Chandos include Tchaikovsky’s complete ballets, Symphonies and orchestral Music by a Swiss Composer Joachim Raff. Also music by Massenet, Chabrier, Saint-Saëns, Suppé, Atterberg, Xaver, Scharwenka, etc. Neeme Järvi has been honoured with many international awards and accolades. From his native country these include an honorary doctorate from the Music and Theatre Academy and the Order of the National Coat of Arms from the President of the Republic of Estonia, Mr. Lennart Meri. The Mayor of Tallinn presented Maestro Järvi with the city’s first-ever ceremonial sash and coat of arms insignia, and he has been named one of the “Estonians of the Century”. Neeme Järvi holds an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Detroit’s Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, as well as honorary doctorates from the University of Aberdeen and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He has also received the Commander of the North Star Order from King Karl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
