 During World War I, he met Igor Stravinsky, who was exiled in Switzerland, and from this meeting began the conductor's lifelong association with Russian music.In 1918 Ansermet founded his own orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR).He toured widely in Europe and America and became famous for accurate performances of difficult modern music, making first recordings of works such as Stravinsky's "Capriccio" with the composer as soloist.