The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Although it maintains headquarters in London, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe lives up to its name: the group's roughly 60 members come from all over the European continent as well as Britain. Cultivating relationships with many conductors and venues, the orchestra is especially noteworthy for its recording catalog, which has earned critical acclaim and major awards.
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe was founded in 1981 by a group of young players who had aged out of the European Community Youth Orchestra and wanted to continue making music together. One of the initial movers was Douglas Boyd, who remained the orchestra's lead oboist for many years, and numerous other founding members have remained with the group. The idea of forming a smaller orchestra oriented toward Baroque and Classical repertory was common at the time; less common was the orchestra's democratic structure, which involved a small directorate elected annually by the players. There is no permanent conductor, but the Chamber Orchestra of Europe quickly began to catch the attention of some of the biggest names on the podium. Two years after its formation, the group was tapped by Claudio Abbado for a Deutsche Grammophon recording of Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims. The orchestra has worked with conductors Bernard Haitink, Sakari Oramo, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and many others, and has performed or recorded with top-caliber soloists including Janine Jansen, Emanuel Ax, and Renaud and Gautier Capuçon.
Accordingly, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe tours all over Europe (and sometimes in North America), with no identification with a particular city. These connections have resulted in an unusually deep collection of recordings: since the late '80s, multiple recordings of the orchestra have appeared in almost every year, and 2006 alone saw seven Chamber Orchestra of Europe releases. The group was a European Union cultural ambassador from 2007 until 2013. In 2009, the orchestra established the COE Academy to provide educational opportunities for student performers. Many of the group's recordings feature Baroque or Classical repertory (especially Mozart), but not all; in 2018, the orchestra issued Visions of Prokofiev on Deutsche Grammophon. The orchestra's vast, critically acclaimed recording catalog has earned two Grammy Awards and three Record of the Year Awards from Gramophone magazine. In 2020, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, led by Harnoncourt, was heard on a live recording of Schubert's symphonies made at the Styriarte festival in Graz, Austria, in 1988. The following year, the orchestra and Harnoncourt were heard on an album of works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms; these recordings were made at the same festival spanning from 1989 through 2007. The Chamber Orchestra of Europe is a nonprofit organization and a registered charity in Britain.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Schubert Soirée
Gidon Kremer, Gabrielle Lester, Diemut Poppen, Richard Lester, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Violin Concertos 1 & 2
Akiko Suwanai, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète & Pulcinella Suite
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Alexander Janiczek
Classical - Released by Linn Records on 29 Jun 2009
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Op. 61 - Romances, Op. 40 & 50
Gidon Kremer, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on 1 Mar 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Schubert : Fierrabras
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
Full Operas - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert : Music for "Rosamunde"
Anne Sofie von Otter, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado, Ernst Senff Chor
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert : Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6 "The Little"
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
Symphonies - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Oboe Concertos
Douglas Boyd, Marieke Blankestijn, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schnittke : Concerto grosso No.1; Quasi una sonata; Moz-Art à la Haydn
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Heinrich Schiff
Symphonic Music - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 "Eroica"
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Symphonic Music - Released by Warner Classics International on 25 Aug 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Martin: Concerto For 7 Wind Instruments (1949); Polyptyque pour violon solo et deux petits orchestres à cordes (1972-73); Études pour orchestre à cordes (1955-56)
Marieke Blankestijn, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Thierry Fischer
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 48; Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Gérard Korsten
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms : Symphonies (Intégrale)
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Paavo Berglund
Symphonies - Released by Ondine on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms : Symphonies (Intégrale)
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Paavo Berglund
Symphonies - Released by Ondine on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann, Robert: Widmung, Op. 25 No. 1 (Arr. Liszt, S. 566)
Beatrice Rana, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 6 Jan 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons / Haydn: Trumpet Concerto, Sinfonia Concertante
Gidon Kremer, London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado, Adolph Herseth, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini : Overtures
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
Overtures - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 14 Apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos.14, 17, 21 & 26
Maria João Pires, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann, Clara: Piano Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 7: II. Romanze
Beatrice Rana, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 9 Dec 2022
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 - 5
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Concertos - Released by Warner Classics International on 1 Mar 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 7 K271A & No. 4 K218
David Garrett, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo