More about your concert
Your evening with us doesn't have to start in the concert hall. Discover our introductory events around your concert visit - live or online.
To find out which concerts will feature accompanying events, please see the concert calendar.
Short introductions
Do you want to go to the concert well prepared? The short introduction will give you a brief and compact overview of the most important facts about the works being performed. This way you will still have the most important facts in your head when the music begins.
The short introduction starts 30 minutes before the concert and lasts fifteen minutes. It takes place in the concert foyer.
We offer a short introduction at the following concerts:
Paavo Järvi & Wayne Marshall
Marek Janowski with Schubert and Beethoven
Marek Janowski with Schubert and Beethoven
Nathalie Stutzmann & Christina Nilsson
Gala concert Freundeskreis
Jan Willem de Vriend with Rossini
Jan Willem de Vriend with Rossini
Paavo Järvi & Lisa Batiashvili
Paavo Järvi & Lisa Batiashvili
Freundeskreis Concert
Introduction - fully prepared for the concert
Are you interested in music history and would like to find out more about the works we perform and their backgrounds? Then visit our introductions. Experienced musicologists provide a vivid, in-depth and multimedia introduction to the works and their historical context. Together we also discover new and surprising things - in both familiar and less familiar repertoire.
The introduction begins 45 minutes before the concert and lasts between 20 and 30 minutes. It takes place in the Kleine Tonhalle.
We offer an introduction at the following concerts:
Paavo Järvi & Frank Peter Zimmermann
Paavo Järvi & Frank Peter Zimmermann
Paavo Järvi with Mozart's Requiem
Paavo Järvi with Mozart's Requiem
Rudolf Buchbinder with Beethoven
Rudolf Buchbinder with Beethoven
Paavo Järvi & Wayne Marshall
Paavo Järvi & Wayne Marshall
Paavo Järvi with Beethoven's Missa Solemnis
Paavo Järvi with Beethoven's Missa Solemnis
Surprise - pre-concert with musicians from the ZHdK
Five times each season, Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) students provide a musical introduction to the concert.
These half-hour chamber music «pre-programmes» refer to the works performed at the concert itself.
The Suprise starts at 6.30 p.m at the Kleine Tonhalle. It will take place at the following concerts:
Tugan Sokhiev & Lukas Sternath
Paavo Järvi & Giorgi Gigashvili
Prélude - Approaches to the contemporary
In the prelude, you will learn more about the evening programme, the rehearsal phase or the artists themselves in an entertaining conversation with composers or performers. Students from the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) will play matching chamber music.
The prelude begins at 6.30 pm in the Kleine Tonhalle and lasts one hour. It takes place at the following concerts:
Paavo Järvi & Hayato Sumino
Paavo Järvi & Lisa Larsson
Gianandrea Noseda & Hilary Hahn
Sonic Matter: Hannu Lintu & Carolin Widmann
Conclusion - encounters after the concert
Our artistic director Ilona Schmiel welcomes conductors, composers and other guests for a discussion after the concert. Join us, treat yourself to a drink and experience our artists immediately after the concert.
The after-concert drinks reception begins directly after each concert in the concert foyer and lasts approx. 30 minutes. After the following concerts there will be an after-concert talk:
Season opening with Paavo Järvi & Khatia Buniatishvili
Nathalie Stutzmann & Christina Nilsson
Paavo Järvi & Hayato Sumino
Jan Willem de Vriend & Kebyart Saxophone Quartet
Gianandrea Noseda & Hilary Hahn
Tugan Sokhiev & Lukas Sternath
Hannu Lintu & Carolin Widmann
Santtu-Matias Rouvali & Vivi Vassileva
Cristian Măcelaru & Julia Fischer
Guided tours – a look behind the scenes
At our orchestra concerts you can regularly discover the history and architecture of the Tonhalle Zurich with your ticket.
Information on registration and other public and individual tours can be found here.
Intro – the Podcast
What moves artists shortly before a premiere? What personal connection do they have to the masterpieces of orchestral music? What are the goosebump moments in film music? In the podcast "Intro" with host and dramaturge Ulrike Thiele, musicians tell their stories.
On Spotify, Apple Podcasts and many other podcast platforms – and of course here on our website.
Live podcast - on the subject of Beethoven
Join us live when host and dramaturge Ulrike Thiele discusses Beethoven 2027 with guests from the world of music and academia.
The live podcast will take place on the following dates at 6.30 pm in the Kleine Tonhalle:
Paavo Järvi & Frank Peter Zimmermann
Paavo Järvi & Wayne Marshall
Digital programme booklets
You can find our digital programme booklets as a PDF on the respective concert page or on this page at least one week before the concert.
For 10 selected concerts, we offer newly printed programme booklets for sale in the Tonhalle.
Subscribers can also order the programme booklet in printed form. You can find all the information here.
