Founded in 1945 by Edmond de Stoutz, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra is now one of the leading ensembles of its kind. Under the direction of Edmond de Stoutz and later Howard Griffiths and Muhai Tang, the orchestra won international recognition. In the years of the world-acclaimed Principal Conductor Sir Roger Norrington, from 2011 to 2015, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra did much to establish and enhance its excellent reputation.

Since the 2016/17 season the orchestra is led for the first time not by a conductor but, in the person of Music Director Daniel Hope, by an instrumentalist.