The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande will perform for the first time as part of the musica viva Festival, one of the most important festivals of contemporary music in the world.

The programme presents the works of three great composers of the 21st century.

Firstly, Rebecca Saunders' latest creation, comissioned by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ensemble intercontemporain, Casa da Música Porto & Radio France, and furthermore two pieces by the Swiss composer Dieter Ammann, and Messagesquisse for solo cello and 6 cellos, by Pierre Boulez.

Rebecca Saunders seems to shape her music like a sculptor: with an unbridled imagination and ever-new techniques, the composer digs deeper into the hidden layers of sound events, to "weave the sounds into a fabric in such a way that it is impossible to know where they come from and where they go". Her new work, which will have its world premiere with the musicians of the OSR and the 12 soloists of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, explores the multiple possibilities of musical interaction. Saunders was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 2019.

Dieter Ammann celebrates his 60th birthday in 2022 and is recording a new album with the OSR to be released for the Festival. Two works included in the CD, Boost and Glut, will be performed at the concert. 

Finally, Pierre Boulez's Messagesquisse - created on the occasion of Paul Sacher's 70th birthday - is a firework display based on the name of the dedicatee transposed into music, which surpasses even the serial creations of Anton Webern.