Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich:
SJMW's 50th Anniversary Concert

The Tonhalle Zürich, home to the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, stands just across the road from the Park Hyatt Zurich, where I like to stay when visiting the city. I had hoped to go during our earlier Christmas market trip, but the concert dates did not fit. This time, I was able to visit.

That evening's performance in the Grosse Tonhalle, the main hall, was the SJMW 50th anniversary concert. SJMW is short for Schweizerischer Jugendmusikwettbewerb, the Swiss Youth Music Competition. It was founded in 1975 by Gerd Albrecht, then chief conductor of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, to find and support young musical talent. The anniversary programme puts participation at more than 1,500 musicians aged 8-20 from across Switzerland. It seems to be quite a substantial event.

The Evening Concert

For the anniversary concert, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich was joined by soloists drawn from past and present SJMW prizewinners. David Bruchez-Lalli conducted a programme that opened with Brahms's Academic Festival Overture, followed by works by Richard Dubugnon, Frank Martin and Daniel Schnyder.

I had initially been more interested in seeing the Grosse Tonhalle itself than in the concert, but the opening Brahms overture was better than I had expected.

Dubugnon's Helvetia III - Le feu de la jeunesse (“The Fire of Youth”) and Schnyder's Quadrupel Concerto were listed as world premieres, commissioned for SJMW's fiftieth anniversary. As SRF explains, a concert of this kind needed plenty of opportunities for soloists, which was why SJMW commissioned the two new works.

An article in the Swiss music journal Schweizer Musikzeitung counts eight former SJMW prizewinners as soloists in the Dubugnon, seven in the Martin and four in the Schnyder. It also includes photographs of the soloists on stage.

Tonhalle Zürich

The Tonhalle Zürich opened in October 1895, with its then chief conductor Friedrich Hegar and Brahms taking part in the inaugural concerts. This seems to explain why accounts of the Tonhalle so often return to Brahms.

The 1895 building was designed by the Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer. It originally had decorative towers and a pavilion, but most of it was demolished when the Kongresshaus, the adjoining convention centre, was built for 1939. The Grosse Tonhalle, Kleine Tonhalle and entrance area survived and were incorporated into the new building.

The Tonhalle Zürich reopened after renovations carried out from 2017 to 2021. The work is described as bringing the building up to modern requirements while restoring the Grosse Tonhalle's decoration and acoustic character. Photographs of the hall were what had made me want to visit, too.

Broadcast and Video

The concert was recorded by SRF 2 Kultur, the cultural radio service of Switzerland's German-language public broadcaster, and broadcast on 18 September. A version for French-speaking listeners is available on the RTS Concert du soir website, which can also be heard from Korea.

SJMW has released a film of the anniversary celebrations, bringing together scenes from the children's concert, the jazz programme and the evening performance in the Grosse Tonhalle. Our family makes a brief appearance in a shot of the audience during the evening concert.

Since the concert, I find myself pleased whenever I come across a Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich recording on a streaming service, and tend to add it to my favourites. Quite a few of the albums I have collected this way feature Brahms. Given his connection with the Tonhalle Zürich, it seems a natural selection.

Where

Grosse Tonhalle, Tonhalle Zürich, Zurich

Performance

Swiss Youth Music Competition 50th anniversary
13 September 2025, 18:30

Orchestra

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich

Conductor

David Bruchez-Lalli

Seats

Centre Balcony (Balkon mitte), Row 1

Broadcast

SRF, RSI, RTS