Philharmonia Zürich
In existence under its present name only since 2012, the Philharmonia Zürich has a long history connected with opera in Zurich. It was formerly known as the Zurich Opera Orchestra, and it continues to perform in operatic productions.
The origins of Philharmonia Zürich date back ultimately to 1834 when the Aktientheater Zürich was founded to promote opera performances in the city. Its conductors included Richard Wagner, who gave the premieres there of Der fliegende Holländer and Tannhäuser. After the Aktientheater burned in 1890, it was replaced by the new Stadttheater Zürich, where both Richard Strauss and Wilhelm Furtwängler conducted. Meanwhile, instrumental music was growing in Zurich with the formation of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich in 1868; in 1944, that group merged with a Zurich radio orchestra and began to encompass concert and operatic subgroups, with the whole being known as the Tonhalle- und Theaterorchester Zürich. The theater orchestra continued to back operatic productions as the Stadttheater was renamed the Opernhaus Zürich in 1964. As both branches of the orchestra grew, they were separated into the Tonhalle Orchester and the Orchester der Oper Zürich in 1985; a new early music orchestra, La Scintilla, was also formed in 1994. Ralf Weikert served as conductor of the new opera orchestra from 1985 to 1992; he inaugurated a series of six purely orchestral concerts. In 1995, he was succeeded by future Cleveland Orchestra conductor Franz Welser-Möst, who raised the group's international profile. His successor, serving from 2009 to 2012, was Daniele Gatti, and in 2012, in recognition of its increasing activity outside the operatic sphere, the group was renamed the Philharmonia Zürich. Its conductor since then has been Fabio Luisi.
The Philharmonia Zürich and Luisi released their debut album, a recording of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, in 2015. The group continues to perform in productions at the Zurich Opera, but it also has a strong independent existence. In addition to orchestral concerts at the Zurich Opera House, the group maintains an academy for teaching young musicians, works with the Zurich University of the Arts, and has operated its own label, Philharmonia Records, since 2015. The orchestra has also recorded for ECM and Accentus, where it released an album of symphonies by Dvořák in 2023 under its new conductor, Gianandrea Noseda.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Discography
13 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Symphonies Nos. 8 & 7
Philharmonia Zürich, Gianandrea Noseda
Klassiek - Released by Philharmonia Records - Opernhaus Zürich on 31 dec. 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Overtures and Preludes
Philharmonia Zürich & Fabio Luisi
Symfonieën - Released by Philharmonia Records - Opernhaus Zürich on 15 sep. 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Piano Trios
Kamermuziek - Released by Philharmonia Records - Opernhaus Zürich on 15 dec. 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Heinz Holliger - Lunea
Christian Gerhaher, Basle Madrigalists, Philharmonia Zürich, Heinz Holliger
Klassiek - Released by ECM New Series on 22 apr. 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, WAB 108 (Original Version, 1887)
Philharmonia Zürich & Fabio Luisi
Symfonieën - Released by Philharmonia Records - Opernhaus Zürich on 15 mei 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Preludes and Interludes
Philharmonia Zürich & Fabio Luisi
Symfonieën - Released by Philharmonia Records - Opernhaus Zürich on 16 feb. 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos 1-4, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Live)
Philharmonia Zürich, Fabio Luisi & Lise de la Salle
Symfonieën - Released by Philharmonia Records - Opernhaus Zürich on 30 okt. 2015
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Symphony in C Major (The Great)
Philharmonia Zürich, Fabio Luisi
Klassiek - Released by Philharmonia Records - Opernhaus Zürich on 1 jan. 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op. 35 Symphonic Suite (Live)
Philharmonia Zürich & Fabio Luisi
Symfonieën - Released by Philharmonia Records - Opernhaus Zürich on 15 dec. 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14 (Live)
Philharmonia Zürich & Fabio Luisi
Symfonieën - Released by Philharmonia Records - Opernhaus Zürich on 5 jan. 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-Flat Major («Romantic»)
Symfonische muziek - Released by Philharmonia Records - Opernhaus Zürich on 25 jan. 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Frank Martin: Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke (Live)
Philharmonia Zürich, Fabio Luisi & Okka von der Damerau
Symfonieën - Released by Philharmonia Records - Opernhaus Zürich on 15 sep. 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Lunea
Christian Gerhaher, Basle Madrigalists, Philharmonia Zürich, Heinz Holliger
Klassiek - Released by ECM New Series on 22 apr. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo