Isabella Katharina Alix Hortense Anda-Bührle known as Hortense Anda-Bührle (née Bührle; May 18, 1926 – May 16, 2014) Swiss businesswoman, art collector and philanthropist. She was the daughter of

Emil Georg Bührle Emil Georg Bührle (; 31 August 1890 - 26 November 1956) was a German-born Swiss industrialist, controversial armament manufacturer and art collector. Bührle was long-term managing owner of Oerlikon-Bührle and the founding patron of Foundation ...

, who was the majority owner of

Oerlikon-Bührle ''Oerlikon-Bührle'' (full name ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon, Bührle & Co.'', initially ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon'') was a Switzerland, Swiss arms industry, armaments company based in Oerlikon (Zürich) from 1906 to 1999.Jürg Fink ...

and long-term trustee and curator of Foundation E. G. Bührle.

Early life

Bührle was born in Zürich, Switzerland, to German parents

and his wife Wilhelmine Charlotte (née Schalk). She did acquire Swiss citizenship only in 1937 by derivation of her parents naturalization. Her father initially was the general director and later majority owner of the machinery concern Oerlikon. Her older brother was

Dieter Bührle Ernst Joseph Sylvester Dietrich Bührle known as Dieter Bührle (December 31, 1921 – November 9, 2012) was a Swiss industrialist, businessman, field handball player and rower. He was the only son of Emil Georg Bührle, majority owner of Oerlik ...

. Her mother hailed from a banking dynasty of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

, which would later finance the majority of the acquisition of the concern. She attended the Swiss private boarding school, Hochalpines Institut Ftan, in Ftan, Grisons as well as St. Georges School in Clarens.

Career

In 1956, when her father died, she inherited a large stake of shares in the

concern. Ultimately she held several active board memberships in Oerlikon, Bally as well as privately owned and controlled IHAG Holding and IHAG Privatbank. She was also a shareholder in the Italian noodle manufacturer

Barilla ''Barilla'' refers to several species of salt-tolerant (halophyte) plants that, until the 19th century, were the primary source of soda ash and hence of sodium carbonate. The word "barilla" was also used directly to refer to the soda ash obtain ...

. She was also owner of the

Hotel Storchen Zürich Hotel Storchen, in Zürich, is one of the oldest hotels in Switzerland, dating to 1357. It is first written about using the name "Haus zum Storchen" in the city tax archives. Its name in English means Hotel Stork. The hotel offers attractive vi ...

and Castello del Sole in

Ascona 300px, Ascona Ascona ( ) is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore. The town is a popular tourist destination and holds the yearly Ascona Jazz Festival. ...

, Switzerland. Anda-Bührle founded the ''Géza Anda Foundation'' in 1978 in memory of her husband

Géza Anda Géza Anda (; 19 November 192113 June 1976) was a Swiss- Hungarian pianist. A celebrated interpreter of classical and romantic repertoire, particularly noted for his performances and recordings of Mozart, he was also considered to be a tremendous ...

and was its chair until her death. In promotion of young pianists, she held the annual

Concours Géza Anda The Concours Géza Anda is a triennial international piano competition in Zürich, Switzerland. It was founded in memory of Hungarian pianist Géza Anda by his widow Hortense Anda-Bührle. The purpose of the competition is to discover and promote y ...

. Together with her brother, she did also inherit the art collection of her late father, which in 1960 led to the establishment of Foundation E. G. Bührle in Zürich, in the former family house. Since October 9, 2021 some paintings are exhibited in a newly added wing at

Kunsthaus Zürich The Kunsthaus Zürich is an art museum in Zurich. It is the biggest art museum in Switzerland by area and houses one of the most important art collections in Switzerland, assembled over time by the Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft, a nonprofit art soc ...

. Anda-Bührle was also a member of the board of trustees of the Kunsthistorisches Institut Florenz in

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence was a centre of medieval European t ...

Ittingen Charterhouse Ittingen Charterhouse (''Kartause Ittingen'') is a former Carthusian monastery near Warth-Weiningen, Warth, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland. It is now used as an education and seminar centre with two museums and a farm. History The monastery was fou ...

and Goethe-Stiftung für Kunst und Wissenschaft in Zürich.

Personal life

In 1964, Bührle married the Hungarian-born pianist

. They had one son; * Gratian Dietrich Bela Anda known as Gratian Anda (born 1969), who is primarily known for his involvement in

and

Pilatus Aircraft Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. is an aerospace manufacturer located in Stans, Switzerland. In June 2016, the company employed 1,905 people. The company has mostly produced aircraft for niche markets, in particular STOL, short takeoff and landing (STOL) ...

, but also for his hospitality ventures. Anda-Bührle died on May 16, 2014, aged 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anda-Buhrle, Hortense 1926 births 2014 deaths Businesspeople from Zurich Swiss businesspeople Swiss patrons of the arts Swiss women philanthropists Swiss art collectors Swiss people of German descent