Ernest Ansermet
Biography Ernest Ansermet
Ernest Ansermet - Conductor (1883-1969)
The Swiss conductor, Ernest Ansermet, came from a musical family; he successively studied the clarinet, violin and brass instruments, which he used in fanfares; later he wrote military marches for the Swiss army which he did not consider important. Besides Music, he studied Mathematics in Lausanne and graduated with a Diploma in 1903; until 1906 he taught at the Lausanne Grammar School, then he decided to continue his studies at the Sorbonne and, at the same time, to attend courses at the Paris Conservatory. After his return to Lausanne, he taught Mathematics for one more year before devoting himself entirely to music.
Ernest Ansermet received the publicly advertised post of director of the Spa concerts in Montreux. Through his friend Charles Ramuz he got to know Igor Stravinsky, who was then living in Clarens. Thus, he experienced the creation of Le Sacré du Printemps, Petrouchka, L'Histoire du Soldat, Bajka and Svadebka at close hand. His encounter with Sergey P. Diaghilev in Geneva was decisive; in December 1915 he conducted the Orchestre des Ballets Russes for the first time at a gala for the Red Cross in a first performance of Soleil de nuit, a choreography by Leonid Massine to music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. In 1916 he went on the first tour of America with the Ballets Russes. He premiered many works composed by I. Stravinsky: In 1918 he conducted the first performance of L'Histoire du Soldat, in 1920 The Song of the Nightingale and Pulcinella, in 1922 Bajka and in 1923 Svadebka also Capriccio for piano (1929) and his Mass (1948).
Besides the works of I. Stravinsky, Ernest Ansermet also conducted first performances of works of many other composers: Parade by Eric Satie (1917), Le tricorne by Manuel de Falla (1919), Chout by Sergey S. Prokofiev (1923). Living in Geneva from 1915, he conducted three orchestras at the same time, the Ballets Russes, the Orchestre Romand (O.R., founded by him in 1918) and the Argentine National Orchestra in Buenos Aires, which was also founded by him. For ten years, he spent the winter in Geneva and the summer in Argentina. All major orchestras issued him an invitation, but he rejected most with the aim of establishing a living musical tradition in Switzerland. In 1940, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande was founded (with support from Swiss Radio), which was closely linked with his name. He conducted the orchestra until 1967.
Ernest Ansermet was a particular advocate of the Swiss composers Arthur Honegger and Frank Martin. He conducted the first performances of the following works of A. Honegger: Horace victorieux (1921), Chant de joie (1923), Rugby (1928) and Pacific 231 (1923), which was dedicated to him, and of the following works of Frank Martin: Symphonie (1938), In terra pax (1945), Der Sturm (1956), Le mystère de la Nativité (1959), Monsieur de Pourceaugnac (1963) and Les Quatre Éléments, which were dedicated to him. Also important were the first performances of Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia (1946) and Cantata misericordium (1963).
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) was founded in 1918 by Ernest Ansermet, who remained principal conductor until 1967. The orchestra employs 112 permanent musicians and performs subscription concert series in Geneva and Lausanne, the symphony concerts of the City of Geneva and the annual United Nations concert, while playing for opera performances at the Grand Théâtre of Geneva. Marek Janowski has been the orchestra’s Artistic and Music Director since 1 September 2005.
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande achieved world renown under its founding conductor and succeeding music directors: Paul Kletzki (1967-1970), Wolfgang Sawallisch (1970-1980), Horst Stein (1980-1985), Armin Jordan (1985-1997), Fabio Luisi (1997-2002) and Pinchas Steinberg (2002-2005). It continues to make an active contribution to music history by discovering or supporting leading contemporary composers of works first performed in Geneva. They include Benjamin Britten, Claude Debussy, Peter Eötvös, Heinz Holliger, Arthur Honegger, Michael Jarrell, Frank Martin, Darius Milhaud and Igor Stravinsky.
Since 2000, the OSR has given the world premières of around two dozen works in cooperation with Radio Suisse Romande. The orchestra also supports new music in Switzerland by regularly commissioning works from such composers as William Blank and Michael Jarrell.
Music performed by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande was broadcast on radio and shortwave early on in close cooperation with Radio-Télévision Suisse Romande and was thus heard by millions of listeners throughout the world. Thanks to its partnership with Decca, which gave rise to several legendary recordings, the orchestra’s renown continued to grow. The OSR has also made recordings for Æon, Cascavelle, Denon, EMI, Erato, Harmonia Mundi, PentaTone and Philips, many of which have been awarded major prizes. For PentaTone, it is recording Bruckner’s complete symphonies, a project which will be completed in 2012.
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande has undertaken international tours and performed in prestigious concert halls in Europe (Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Vienna, Salzburg, Madrid, Barcelona, Brussels, Amsterdam, Budapest, Istanbul, London, Paris, Rome, Milan, etc.), in Asia (Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing), as well as in major cities in the Americas (Boston, New York, San Francisco, Washington, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, etc.). During the 2011-2012 season, the OSR will perform in Vienna and Cologne, and for the first time in Moscow and St Petersburg.
A frequent guest of festivals, the orchestra has appeared since 2000 at the Budapest Spring Festival, Chorégies d’Orange, Festival de Música de Canarias, Lucerne Easter Festival, Radio France and Montpellier Festival, Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Robeco Zomerconcerten, Septembre Musical in Montreux and the Bucharest Festival. Starting with the 2012-2013 season, Neeme Järvi will become the OSR’s Artistic and Music Director, with Kazuki Yamada as the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor.
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande is supported by the Canton and the City of Geneva, Radio-Télévision Suisse Romande, friends’ associations as well as by several sponsors and donors. For the concerts performed in Lausanne, the orchestra also benefits from the support of the Canton of Vaud.
