Discover the 2021/22 season
Dear audience,
The moment has come. As of mid-September, we will once again be able to share the experience of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich playing live in its permanent home, the Tonhalle Zürich – now restored to its former glory and with even better acoustics. We are delighted that we will finally be able to welcome you back here and perform for you in person.
Since its inauguration in 1895, the Tonhalle Zürich has undergone drastic structural changes – the outer construction undergoing radical restructuring in the following century and extended with the addition of a conference centre in 1939. Further architectural alterations were made in 1985, and as of September 2021, the Kongresshaus and Tonhalle Zürich complex will once again be a place for visitors to experience the extraordinary – as symbolised by the reclaimed view of the Alpine panorama.
These four significant milestones in the Tonhalle Zürich’s history are also reflected in the new season’s programme – the first to be performed in the renovated concert hall – starting with the inaugural concert, at which Mahler’s Third Symphony will be performed under Music Director Paavo Järvi. This monumental work was composed at around the same time as the Tonhalle was opened on Lake Zurich and was the first of Mahler’s symphonies ever to be performed by the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.
With composer, conductor and creative thinker John Adams, you will be very much in the spirit of 2021 and in tune with the times. Paavo Järvi, who conducts and records Adams’s works, considers him «a leading figure in American music.» John Adams will be presenting his own compositions in various formats at the Tonhalle during the spring of 2022. Conductor Laureate David Zinman, Jaap van Zweden and Robert Trevino will also be devoting themselves to his music over a six-week period.
You will already be familiar with what is on offer in the In Focus series: exceptional artists who are outstanding in their individual approach to music. Paavo Järvi and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich would like to introduce you to the following three Focus artists in the 2021/22 season: pianist Hélène Grimaud, organist Christian Schmitt and violinist Vilde Frang.
The Tonhalle Zürich has a new organ. Focus artist Christian Schmitt will inaugurate the instrument, built by Orgelbau Kuhn AG, in September with a new work by Guillaume Connesson and a performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’s Third Symphony. Throughout the season, the queen of instruments will take centre stage at many orchestral and chamber music concerts – an Orgelnacht in September, for example, and during the Internationale Orgeltage Zürich, which will be held for the first time in June 2022.
Paavo Järvi and your orchestra will be exploring another composer this season – launching a Bruckner cycle as well as starting to record some of his symphonies. At the end of the season, we would like to bring our music especially close to all the people of Zurich. We will be performing a key work of the 1930s for you at an open-air concert on Münsterhof: Carl Orff’s powerful «Carmina Burana.»
The concerts dedicated to film music are also sure to be thrilling. The Film music series – originally introduced at Tonhalle Maag – will focus on three themes (silent film, talkies and the International Film Music Competition). The film music format often gives younger audiences their first opportunity to experience orchestral music. All concerts will be conducted by Frank Strobel. The 2021/22 programme will also feature a chamber music series for the very young (from the age of four) entitled «What do you think ocean?» («Was denkst du Ozean?»). And then there will be the concert at which you take centre stage: with the reconvened Audience Orchestra (Publikumsorchester).
The informal atmosphere of our interim venue, the Tonhalle Maag, will continue to be felt at the Tonhalle Zürich. Here, too, artists will be present in the foyer after concerts. Discover all our other projects and guest artists by reading our magazine or following us on social media. And as you can see, we have also redesigned our website: the homepage will be your daily source of news about the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and we care that you should always find up-to-date, interesting information on our site. Immerse yourself in our new website and find the stories you enjoy. Search for the concert that moves you. We live with passion, striving for excellence with a view to bringing you unique musical experiences. This is our mission, which is also expressed in our new visual brand.
The most important thing for all of us is that we should be able to touch you – at the Tonhalle Zürich, with the music of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. We look forward to welcoming you!
Your Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich AG
