Ansermet, Ernest Alexandre (1883–1969)

Swiss conductor. He worked with Diaghilev's Russian Ballet 1915–23. In 1918 he founded the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, which he conducted until 1967. He was known for his accurate and well-balanced performances of Stravinsky's earlier music and gave the first performances of The Soldier's Tale (1918), Pulcinella (1920), and Renard (1922).

Originally a professor of mathematics 1906–10, he studied music with Ernest Bloch, Felix Mottl, and Arthur Nikisch. In 1961 he published a book criticizing certain aspects of modern, especially serial, music.