The founding of the ‘Allgemeine Schweizerischen Musikgesellschaft’ (General Swiss Music Society) in 1808 in Zurich provided a vital boost to musical life. The music festivals organised by the society facilitated choral and orchestral performances with hundreds of participants and works by great masters.
Composers such as Carl Maria von Weber, Felix Mendelsohn, Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms were attracted to Switzerland and its flourishing musical landscape.
In Zurich (1812) and later in Basel (1876), the founding of local general music societies laid the cornerstones for musical culture. In the middle of the 19th century, the first professional symphony orchestras were founded, including the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra in 1862.
