Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
The Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, or Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, is among Switzerland's leading symphonic ensembles. The orchestra is of unusual antiquity, with roots stretching back into the 17th century.
The forerunners of the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra were amateur musical ensembles that arose between 1600 and 1680 in Zurich, a city that lacked a major aristocratic music-making apparatus. In 1812, three of these joined forces to form the Allgemeine Musikalische Gesellschaft (General Musical Society), which maintained a seasonal orchestra. This group, though still partly amateur, gained renown, and Richard Wagner served as its conductor in the 1850s. He was apparently the first to suggest the need for a modern hall for the group, which was performing in a casino. In 1868, it was renamed the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and relaunched with Friedrich Hegar as the conductor. The first "Tonhalle" (Tone Hall) was a refurbished grain exchange, but in 1895, the current Tonhalle was built, and the orchestra moved in. Hegar remained the conductor until 1906, and his successor, Volkmar Andreae, was similarly durable, remaining in his post until 1949. Noted conductors during the later 20th century included Rudolf Kempe (1965-1972, Christoph Eschenbach (1982-1986), and David Zinman (1995-2014), who raised the orchestra's international profile in performance and on recordings. He established a contemporary music series called "tonhalleLATE." Zinman was succeeded by Lionel Bringuier (2014-2018) and Paavo Järvi (2019-). Since 2014, the orchestra has also maintained the position of Creative Chair, rotating annually; the first of these was Esa-Pekka Salonen, succeeded by conductors and composers, including Jörg Widmann, Péter Eötvös, and Arvo Pärt (2020-2021). The orchestra has also welcomed a sequence of prestigious guest conductors, including Georg Solti, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, and Mariss Jansons.
The Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra made some classic recordings during the 78 rpm and LP eras, including very early recordings of Vivaldi's music under Andreae in the 1920s and readings of music by Franz Lehár conducted by the composer in the 1940s. The orchestra's recording program expanded substantially under Zinman, who issued multiple recordings of Strauss tone poems on the Arte Nova label, and of Mahler and Schubert symphonies on RCA. The orchestra has continued to record for Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, Alpha, and other labels, issuing a recording of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64, under Järvi on Alpha in 2020.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Similar artists
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Bruckner: Symphony No. 8
Paavo Järvi, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 18 Aug 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Symphonies
Paavo Järvi, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 15 Mar 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 20 Jan 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Complete Orchestral Works
Yuja Wang, Ray Chen, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Lionel Bringuier
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 8 Apr 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1, Italian Capriccio, Waltz
Paavo Järvi, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 8 Oct 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Francesca da Rimini
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 13 Nov 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Piano Concertos
Yuja Wang, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Lionel Bringuier
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 2 Oct 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique' & Romeo and Juliet
Paavo Järvi, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 20 Aug 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 3, Polonaise & Coronation March
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 8 Oct 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Messiaen : L'Ascension, Le Tombeau resplendissant, Les Offrandes oubliées, Un sourire
Paavo Järvi, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 27 Sep 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 9 Apr 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bruch & Dvorak : Violin Concertos
Julia Fischer, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, David Zinman
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2013
Gramophone Editor's Choice16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Complete Orchestral Works
Yuja Wang, Ray Chen, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Lionel Bringuier
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 8 Apr 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No.5
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Sir Georg Solti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C Minor
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Rudolf Kempe
Classical - Released by SOMM Recordings on 1 Feb 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 - Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 & Cello Concerto
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paul Tortelier, Otto Ackermann
Classical - Released by Datum on 5 May 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Apocalypse - Ride of the Valkyries (Walkürenritt)
David Zinman, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Classical - Released by Sony Classical - Sony Music on 23 Mar 2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Natthall
Sebastian Mullaert, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Classical - Released by Neue Meister on 18 Sep 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Giuseppe Di Stefano: Operatic Recital
Giuseppe Di Stefano, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Franco Patane
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monteverdi: Le couronnement de Poppée (Mono Version)
Friedrich Brückner-Rüggeberg, Sylvia Gähwiller, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Walter Goehr
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel
Yuja Wang, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Lionel Bringuier
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 2 Oct 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo