Founded in 1975 by its present conductor Roberto Sawicki, the Orchestra of Lancy in Geneva (Orchestre de Lancy-Genève, or OLG) is composed of professional musicians of a very high standard, some of whom are also members of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Though performing mainly in the city of Geneva, the ensemble plays regularly in France and has given concerts in Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Spain and South America.
Essentially a string orchestra, the OLG nonetheless frequently incorporates other families of instruments, such as wind and percussion instruments. This flexibility allows for a vast repertoire, ranging from the baroque to the contemporary. The orchestra’s programme habitually includes the great names of classical music, such as Haydn, Mozart, Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Bartók, but Roberto Sawicki also presents rarer compositions, notably by Bloch, and the Argentines Ginastera, Piazzola, Aguirre, Stalman, Cosentino.
Always eager to explore new and different repertoires, Roberto Sawicki leans toward the string quartet, carefully choosing scores that lend themselves to performance by an orchestra. The ensemble has thus performed quartets by Schubert, Verdi, Tchaikovsky and Ginastera. In addition, Roberto Sawicki and violist Zoltan Kacsoh have — along with Adrián Kreda — created numerous transcriptions for the orchestra. Amongst the most recent are pieces by Verdi, “Catfish Row” by Gershwin, the “Baal Shem” suite by Bloch and “Pampeana“ by Ginastera.
Several memorable concerts received a favourable echo in the Geneva press, notably Gorecki's Third Symphony, performed in 1993 in the Geneva cathedral, the homage to Bloch broadcast on Radio Suisse Romande, and more recently the tribute to Ginastera at Geneva's Conservatory of Music. Over the last few years the orchestra has also acquired a reputation for its recordings. In particular, the recording dedicated to Ernest Bloch received critical acclaim by the French magazine Diapason, which rewarded five “diapasons” for the CD in September 2001.
The Orchestra of Lancy, Geneva, is supported by the city of Lancy