That was our European tour

Hamburg, Paris, Frankfurt, Cologne and Essen: These were the stops on our European tour supported by Merbag. Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson joined us at the first four venues, and after the Swiss premiere of John Adams' piano concerto "After the Fall", he now also played the German and French premieres of the work. In Essen, he was replaced by Anna Vinnitskaya, who performed Schumann's piano concerto, as she did recently in Zurich.

Michaela Braun, Head of Marketing and Communication, and violist Ursula Sarnthein report on what they experienced on the tour:

Monday, 17 March 2025 - Hamburg

Cheers for Paavo Järvi, for soloist Víkingur Ólafsson and for the orchestra: the opening concert of the current tour at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg was a resounding success. Michaela Braun tells us here what happened on and off stage.

Water, not vodka

Hamburg again and again, the fourth time we've played here since this fantastic concert hall, or rather this unique venue, opened in 2017. The Elbphilharmonie continues to fascinate; it feels like a place of pilgrimage at any time of day or evening. Thousands of visitors come to the plaza every day. Concert tickets are selling like hot cakes and our two concerts have also been sold out for weeks. At the first concert, we meet our sponsor LGT Private Banking, who have invited numerous clients.

Our first concert is moderated. We try to create proximity and present key works of classical music to beginners, says Burkhard Glashoff, Managing Director of Pro Arte; he does this five to six times a season. The concert prices are not adjusted downwards in order to increase interest, no, a concert has its value. Víkingur Ólafsson answered the questions on stage. After he made it clear that there was no vodka in his glass, only water, and explained why he doesn't play handball, the atmosphere was great after two encores.

On the second evening - with a thoroughly demanding programme of works by Lutosławski, Ligeti and Adams - the audience went wild with applause. Paavo Järvi, who is a frequent guest here, said that he had rarely experienced such frenetic cheering and standing ovations. In the meantime, Artistic Director Ilona Schmiel and Marc Barwisch, Head of Artistic Departement, have already finalised the next concerts in 2026. Both sides can be happy about that.

And what else in Hamburg?

Unlike many other German cities, Hamburg is in the fortunate position that at the end of last year, the city council approved the double budget for 2025 and 2026, with an increase of 11 per cent for culture. This means a great deal of planning security for cultural institutions.

The big topic at the moment is the construction of a new opera house, financed by private funds, in the booming Hafencity. Architecturally, of course, this building should also be outstanding and become another beacon of the city. Now all that remains is for the city council to approve the contract between the city and the patron.

Tuesday, 18 March 2025 - Paris

After a successful start in Hamburg, the orchestra has now arrived in Paris. And in a hotel that violist Ursula Sarnthein has very moving memories of.

Partageons nos emotions!

That's what it said on the huge Stade de France football stadium that we passed on the bus journey from Paris airport to the hotel. Our "stadium" tonight may not seat 80,000 people, but only 1,600, but the Philharmonie de Paris from 2015, gleaming silver from the outside, is a fascinating place to share our emotions.

Emotional memories

When I saw the large entrance gate of the hotel at Gare du Nord, I was suddenly transported back 27 years, because we were staying in the very hotel where I spent a two-week rehearsal period with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra under Pierre Boulez in 1997!

I can still see myself arriving at the hotel entrance with my suitcase and violin case, warmly greeted by the jolly English trombonist who was later partly responsible for the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra being banned from this hotel - the parties that were held there between rehearsals were a bit wild ...

The hotel has since been renovated, is cheerful and colourful and, according to its own advertising, is characterised by "colourful street art murals", "inspired by local heroes of the 10th district".

At the time, I was preparing for my very first "real" audition with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich in this hotel alongside rehearsals - two weeks after the GMJO's six-week tour, I wanted to try my luck.

At the GMJO I met a Swiss double bass player called Oliver Corchia, who had recently won the audition with the Tonhalle-Orchester and who offered me the chance to stay with him in Zurich in September.my desk neighbour was a young violinist from Dresden, Ulrike Schumann, who then won the audition with us in 2001 and from then on sat next to me in the Tonhalle- Orchester! All three of us have now been members of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich for 27 and 24 years respectively - which, as far as we know, has never been banned from a hotel..

Now just an hour's practice (the plush frog enthroned above the bed and my room neighbours will be delighted!), a sunny walk through Paris - Place des Vosges to Centre Pompidou is what flautist Haika Lübcke and I have planned - and then off to share emotions on stage at the Stade de la Musique!

Tuesday, 18 March 2025 - Paris

Paavo Järvi's day in Paris began early - with a radio interview. Michaela Braun was there.

Paris morning

Tuesday morning, 7 a.m.: An espresso and off we go to Radio France on Avenue J.F. Kennedy. Paavo Järvi is a guest on the France Musique morning programme, with a different artist live in the studio every morning. Today Paavo will talk for 30 minutes about his work with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, including recordings, the hall in Paris and the works he has chosen. However, the introduction is political. As he holds an American passport, he is immediately asked about Donald Trump. Thank goodness the translator told us in advance that he also translates for the Paris-based OECD - so he was familiar with political issues. After the statement on Trump, however, we quickly move on to the music.

Before Paavo Järvi came to Paris as chief conductor in 2010, Sibelius was not on the French music map. He was the first to record his symphonies with a French orchestra and insisted that the Eiffel Tower be depicted on the cover. Both a novelty. When asked why CD recordings are still needed today, he replies in the radio interview that the CD (or Spotify) is making it everywhere. We listen to an excerpt from Mahler 5 (Adagietto) - he says that the orchestra can't set up in the studio now, we have no space, but the CD can be listened to and you can get an idea of the quality of the orchestra. "A CD is a little postcard of musical life". They are also snapshots of the present. The composer has left behind his works, and our legacy is the recordings.

He goes on to say that it is fortunate to have a hall like the Tonhalle Zurich. It is a partner and another instrument at the same time - a place where you can rehearse and where the concerts take place at the same time. The Philharmonie de Paris, which he opened exactly ten years ago, is of course also discussed.

There are also requests: one from Antônio Carlos Jobim, whose music Paavo finds "so cool, so sexy". We also hear Pärt's "Credo", a piece by Rameau (played by our soloist on the tour - Víkingur Ólafsson) and "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck.

The radio team has done some good research. Finally, Paavo Järvi is asked about his annual comments on the European Song Contest on social media. His opinion: "It's a joke, but I love it."

Here you can listen to the Radio Interview with Paavo Järvi and a four-part special about the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.

Wednesday, 19 March 2025 - Paris

At the concert in the Philharmonie de Paris, 24 friends and family members of our flautist Sabine Poyé Morel sat in the audience. Michaela Braun spoke to her about France and her path to the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.

Back to her home country

Sabine Poyé Morel moved to Switzerland 23 years ago. The position with the orchestra was open, she won the audition - it was that easy, she says with a laugh. We want to know how it was to learn the language, plus the dialect. She knew some German, it was her first foreign language at school, so she quickly felt comfortable and confident. Her school in Tours regularly organised student exchanges with Rosenheim. Years ago, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich had once given a guest performance there. Her friend came too, of course. What a pity that we don't visit Munich more often. But she knows that this is due to the hall situation in Munich.

Her husband is also French, he comes from Metz, where she had her first job in an orchestra. Understanding dialect is not always easy, as there are so many different dialects in Switzerland. Her son has no problem with this because he grew up in Zurich.

"I live and work in Zurich. That's where my life is and it's good. France is still home. But I think that's quite normal. Many people feel that way when they leave home. If there's one thing I miss, apart from family and friends, it's the social ease of the French." Paris is fantastic, the Philharmonie is a great success. Also the history of France. Many French people don't realise how great the country actually is. Starting with the history, the revolution. The people have a lot of strength. The artists that the nation has produced: it's all really fascinating. Many are too critical. And of course, not everyone has an easy life. And when it comes to music, Debussy is the greatest. "Syrinx is a fantastic work for a flautist."

Back to France again. It's big, the regions are so different and have their own characteristics. "The French go on strike a lot, but that also has a positive side. People get involved together. It's not just the individual that counts, there's a lot of solidarity and I like that." Paris is the centre - that hasn't changed over the centuries. That's where the power is. And that, in turn, is something that Sabine likes about Switzerland, the people's right to have a say. One reason why she wanted to become Swiss.

We talk about our concert in the Philharmonie. "Ah, the concert is so special for me. This time, 24 friends and family members were there. My father is the travel agent and organises everything. After the concert, we always go to the same pizzeria next to the Philharmonie and enjoy being together. And, of course, they've already made a reservation for 2 December." Because that's when the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich will return.

Thursday, 20 March - Frankfurt

The concert at the Alte Oper Frankfurt is over, and the Łosiewicz family was also there in very different capacities. Michaela Braun spoke to the three of them.

It stays in the family

No, no family room, everyone has their own. Despite having a family, privacy, switching off and recharging your batteries are important on tour, says Kasia Kitrasiewicz-Łosiewicz, violist in the orchestra. Everything is so close together on tour, you have to be able to close the door behind you at some point and be alone. And no, they haven't spent much time together yet. Their son, Philippe Łosiewicz, who is working with us for six months in orchestral technology before starting his medical studies in the autumn, also has a different schedule to his father and mother. By the time his parents come into the hall, he has more or less finished his work. And when they have finished, he and his colleagues clear the stage and stow everything away in the lorries. So no, no family outing. In Paris, there was the only opportunity to eat a Chateaubriand together on tour before the concert, says Kamil Łosiewicz, double bass player in the orchestra. But she always finds time to hug her son, says Kasia. He is not embarrassed, says Philippe: "We are family and we get on very well together."

I ask him whether he sees the parents as parents on stage or as musicians. "I do my job, and I do it equally well for everyone. I have to be professional. At most, mum asks if I've eaten enough. All in all, it's a great experience for me, and if my parents can see me as an adult who is serious about my work, then that's good for me."

They have perceived the three stages of the tour so far differently. Kasia says of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg that she felt "naked", Kamil thought it was simply "awesome", and Philippe liked the Weinberg structure of the concert hall. According to Kasia, it was a very homogeneous performance for her in Paris, but for Kamil it was too dark, too black backstage. And Philippe found it "cosy". Finally, Kasia found the Alte Oper in Frankfurt "screaming", Kamil "loud", and Philippe can't really categorise it; it was definitely too tight a stage arrangement, "you could hardly get through".

The works, on the other hand, were accompanied by a unisomo. They were particularly taken with Schumann's Symphony No. 3 and the Brahms encore. "Paavo conducts them differently every time, you have to be on your guard, I love that," says Kasia. "It was especially great in Frankfurt: risky and fully focussed."

Friday, 21 March - Cologne

When the orchestra performs in Cologne, it's a home game for violist and blog author Ursula Sarnthein: one that she remembers a special encore in which she herself has now played.

My Rhenish home

Growing up in a village near Cologne, Cologne was the epitome of the big city for me as a child. A trip to Cologne to the zoo - and a ride on the underground - was the greatest thing for me and my siblings. I spent five years of my studies at the Cologne University of Music, in a small flat five minutes from the cathedral, with the lovely Cologne address "Klingelpütz 2", which means prison in Cologne dialect.

Our hotel is located between the railway station and the conservatory, which I naturally paid a visit to. It's a strange feeling to be back there - it looks completely unchanged. What is missing is the "practice queue". Back then, you had to queue there every two hours to get a room for two hours of practice. The practice rooms were legendary - old, run-down, with grand pianos that were sometimes missing keys and with countless stupid sayings written in pencil on the wall, a welcome distraction from practising ...

The circle closes

When the Philharmonie opened, I was 14 years old, I can still remember it very well. Playing there once was still an unattainable dream for me in 1986. During my student days, I worked in the interval service at the Philharmonie and served champagne. One particular memory: while we were still drying and clearing the glasses in the top bar during the interval, an orchestra played a Hungarian dance by Brahms as an encore. I was totally thrilled, threw away my towel and quickly ran upstairs to the hall to listen. Last night I actually sat on the stage of the Philharmonie and played the encore myself - the circle is complete!

Dreamlike

Our audience yesterday was also enthusiastic, and after the fifth concert we have arrived at the somnambulistic certainty that gives you extra pleasure and the freedom to take musical curves more sharply. Víkingur Ólafsson did the same in Schumann's piano concerto.

Of course, there is also something special about playing the "Rheinische" in Cologne. The majestic grandeur of the cathedral, which Schumann only got to know as an unfinished but nevertheless impressive torso, is described particularly in the 4th movement - when I hear and play it, I always see the forest of pillars inside in front of me. I'm sure the image of the cathedral was strong for everyone, it's very impressive how this gigantic building is enthroned next to the railway station and above the Rhine.

It is ageing well

I had my first performance in the Cologne Philharmonie in the 1990s with the university orchestra, and even then I liked the backstage area, which for me - after the Elbpihilharmonie - is the best I know: spacious, practically laid out, cosy with tables in alcoves and a small bar, you like to spend time there even though you are many metres underground. Here, too, everything seems unchanged to me, the building is ageing well! The Kölner Philharmonie is a modern, tent-like hall with a stage in the centre. I like the acoustics in these halls, where the sound can spread out freely in all directions and is not reflected directly onto the stage by the side walls.

Pizza and empty strings

On Saturday, we move on to Essen, where I also have special memories: When I was about 15, I was given the opportunity to audition for a violin professor in Cologne, who didn't take me on himself, but found me a teacher who I travelled to by train every week from then on - from Düren to Essen, an hour and a half with a change in Cologne. I always travelled the Cologne-Essen route with a slice of pizza from Cologne station in my hand ... I always had plenty of time to read on the journeys. Twice the book was so exciting that I forgot the violin on the train when I got off - luckily I got it back quickly both times.

Tomorrow in Essen, I'm really looking forward to meeting my teacher from back then: Claudia-Susanne Hohorst, principal 2nd violin with the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra, built up my violin technique so solidly back then with an incomparable mixture of humour and rigour that I still benefit from it today. In my very first lesson with her, she very kindly asked me if I played in an orchestra, and after I had enthusiastically listed everything, she just said dryly: "Don't bother. Now we'll be playing empty strings for at least four weeks."
I gulped blankly at first, but it didn't do me any harm. When I was preparing for my audition at the Tonhalle, she was the one who gave me the finishing touches.

The Essen Philharmonie didn't exist back then, but I'm really looking forward to playing here again!

Saturday, 22 March 2025 - Essen

The last concert in the Philharmonie Essen is scheduled for Saturday. For our horn player Tobias Huber, it is a return to his former home hall. Michaela Braun spoke to him.

A kind of adopted home

Essen is probably not at the top of the list of tourist destinations. But the city in the centre of the Ruhr region has long been an insider tip for culture and art tourists. A good 5 million people live in the catchment area between Duisburg and Dortmund, with a cultural offering that is well worth seeing.

Our horn player Tobias Huber feels the same way. He joined the orchestra in Essen in 2011 with mixed feelings. He knew he wasn't going to Paris or Berlin when he took up his first position after the Academy at Bavarian Radio and a temporary contract with the Munich Philharmonic. Essen proved him wrong. Not only did he have fantastic musical colleagues, but the city with its huge offerings and lots of greenery also inspired the amateur sportsman. Who would have thought that the city, which had been characterised by coal and steel for decades, would be awarded the title of "European Green Capital" by the EU Environment Commission in 2017? The urban lifestyle really appealed to him. He found Essen with its 600,000 inhabitants relaxed, the people open and direct. From a Swiss perspective, "very refreshing".

He had a lot of fun. The Philharmonie hall with the theatre and the opera house (built by Alvar Aalto, by the way) in the neighbourhood is unique. "I played a lot of opera, Wagner's 'Ring' in my first year, and had to learn a whole load of new repertoire in a very short space of time. Performing at both venues was cool."

Ten days before the first coronavirus lockdown, he took up his position with us in Zurich. He still spends a few days in Essen once or twice a year - many good friends, a "Göttibueb" and his flat, which is sublet, keep drawing him back. He is therefore really looking forward to playing here again: "Lots of friends will be coming and it will certainly be a bit emotional."

Sunday, 23 March - Closing

The tour is over. For our horn player Charly Fässler, this is a special moment: he is retiring after 34 years in the orchestra. Michaela Braun spoke to him.

Double end to tour and career

Charly Fässler has played almost 2,500 concerts in his 34 years with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. Last night in Essen was his last. It was a farewell in instalments, he says, in Zurich with a standing ovation (very touching) and now on tour. And that's just fine. His wife was also there in Hamburg, which did them both a lot of good.

Many experiences pass before his eyes. And because everything was "just so great", it is difficult to pick out a highlight: he has gladly given his all to music over the years. The Beethoven, Strauss and Mahler cycles with David Zinman were special, as were the first tours to Asia. He has experienced seven chief conductors. With Paavo Järvi, his passion spilled over to him in a very special way. "Paavo has music in his blood, it's not something he has learnt, he has the genes for it and we notice that at all rehearsals and concerts. That was an incredible enrichment at the end of my career."

In general, Charly Fässler has had a fantastic career. At the beginning, when he was already playing the trumpet, the conductor of the Kadettenmusik Zug approached him and his colleague and said that they should learn the horn. He needed two horn players and provided them both with a teacher from the opera house in Zurich. "So I realised this conductor's dream and my dream came true. I played chamber music in amateur orchestras from an early age and the horn was always needed. At the Konsi in Zurich, I realised very quickly that I wanted to play in the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. During this time, I took a year off and was a student of the principal horn player at Covent Garden Opera. From 1984 onwards, I was a member of the orchestra. Everyone was so nice - I wanted that kind of environment, I wanted to make music there."

And he was not disappointed. He felt at home in the orchestra all those years, but especially in the horn section. Good teamwork and a good feeling in his daily life on stage have always accompanied him. Nevertheless, his departure is not accompanied by too much melancholy. "There's enough to do in my life. I can now support my wife better at home, which wasn't always possible due to the evening and weekend commitments, so I can now give something back to her. I'll be out in nature a lot, doing sport - and I don't have to practise every day any more!" He laughs, turns round and goes on his way.

The conclusion

And what is the outcome of our tour? We played six concerts in five cities and were able to inspire over 11,000 visitors in (almost) sold-out halls. "Audiences, organisers and media representatives were equally enthusiastic and were impressed by the flexibility, agility and beautiful sound of our orchestra," says Artistic Director Ilona Schmiel. "Thanks to our energy and top quality under Paavo Järvi and with exceptional soloists, we are confident in international comparison."

And it continues: the planning for the guest performances at the end of the summer as well as the start of our residency in Baden-Baden and the subsequent tour to Vienna, Cologne and Paris are already in full swing.

Tour Partner: Merbag

We use deepL.com for our translations into English.