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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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 -
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Classical - Released by Ica Classics on 22 Oct 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn : Symphonies 1-5 (Live)
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Rias Kammerchor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Symphonies - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 16 Jun 2017
Gramophone: Recording of the Month16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 40 & 41 "Jupiter"
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann : Piano Concerto - Violin Concerto
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Martha Argerich, Gidon Kremer, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Concertos - Released by Warner Classics International on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart : Don Giovanni
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
Full Operas - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Violin Concertos/Double Concerto
Salvatore Accardo, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Visions Of Prokofiev
Lisa Batiashvili, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 2 Feb 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi
Daniel Hope, Anne Sofie von Otter, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Romeo And Juliet, Op. 64, Dance Of The Knights (Arr. For Solo Violin And Orchestra By Tamás Batiashvili)
Lisa Batiashvili, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 12 Jan 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Triple Concerto, Rondo in B-flat & Choral Fantasy
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on 17 Sep 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn
Daniel Hope, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Thomas Hengelbrock
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 8 Oct 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert : 8 Symphonies - Rosamunde - Grand Duo
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 -
Haydn : 7 "London" Symphonies
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
Symphonies - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos.21 K.467 & 26 K.537
Maria João Pires, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos.1 & 2
Maria João Pires, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Emmanuel Krivine, André Previn
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20, K. 466; Piano Sonatas, K. 281 & 332
Seong-Jin Cho, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 16 Nov 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Cello Concertos Nos.1 & 2; Violin (Cello) Concerto No.4
Mischa Maisky, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf
Sting, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Oboe Concertos BWV 1053, 1059 & 1055
Douglas Boyd, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini : Il Barbiere di Siviglia
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
Full Operas - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo