The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
One of the few full-time professional chamber orchestras in the U.S., the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra has an unusual structure involving five Artistic Partners, with no permanent conductor. The group has an unusually diverse repertory ranging from the Baroque to very recent contemporary music.
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1959, partly at the behest of city leaders who wanted to draw visitors downtown without competing with the Twin Cities' well-established Minnesota Orchestra. Leonard Sipe organized the group, which gave its first performance on November 18, 1959, at St. Paul's Central High School. In the 1980s, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra moved into the acoustically notable Ordway Auditorium, but it also gives concerts at a wide variety of other venues around the Twin Cities and maintains several outreach programs. In 1968, the group became the first full-time professional chamber orchestra in the U.S., retaining that distinction until 1978. Sipe stepped down in 1972 and was replaced by Dennis Russell Davies, who initiated the orchestra's long emphasis on contemporary music. He was succeeded in 1980 by violinist and conductor Pinchas Zukerman, and in turn in 1987, by a triumvirate consisting of principal conductor Hugh Wolff, director of music Christopher Hogwood, and creative chair John Adams. Wolff became the full-time music director in 1992, but the orchestra continued to experiment with unusual leadership structures after his retirement; since 2004, it has worked with five Artistic Partners, who may be instrumentalists, conductors, or singers. These partners have been musicians of international stature, including violinist Joshua Bell (2004-2007), conductor Edo de Waart (2010-2014), and clarinetist Martin Fröst (2016-present). Since 2016, Kyu-Young Kim has served as artistic director, but there is no permanent conductor or music director. The orchestra has about 30 musicians, trimmed somewhat after a financial crisis in 2012 and 2013, but it can be expanded for larger projects. The group plays some 130 concerts annually.
The recording career of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra dates back at least to the early 1980s when the group's LP recording of Copland's Appalachian Spring became one of the first commercially released digital recordings. During the CD era, the orchestra has recorded for CBS/Sony, Apex, and Teldec, among other labels, moving to Nonesuch in 2021 for a recording of Mozart piano concertos with Artistic Partner Jeremy Denk.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discography
15 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Schubert: Death and the Maiden
Patricia Kopatchinskaja, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 14 Oct 2016
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart Piano Concertos
Jeremy Denk, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on 30 Jul 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach & Vivaldi: Violin Concertos & Double Concertos
Midori, Pinchas Zukerman, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven/Schubert/Dvorak: Romances, etc
Pinchas Zukerman, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 12 Aug 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Holst: St. Paul's Suite; A Fugal Concerto / Tippett: Fantasia on a Theme of Corelli / Corelli: Concerto grosso in F; Sonata in B minor
Christopher Hogwood, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Dec 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: The Horn Concertos
Hermann Baumann, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Pinchas Zukerman
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Pulcinella; Dumbarton Oaks / Gallo: Sonatas / Pergolesi: Sinfonia
Christopher Hogwood, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 May 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pachelbel: Canon & Gigue & Works By Handel, Telemann, Vivaldi, Rameau & Purcell
Pinchas Zukerman, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Martinu: Sinfonietta 'La Jolla', La revue de cuisine...
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Christopher Hogwood
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1992
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto; Octet
Pinchas Zukerman, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466: II. Romance
Jeremy Denk, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on 27 May 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Gounod: Symphony No.1; Petite symphonie etc
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Christopher Hogwood
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chanson gitane (Mono version)
Marcel Cariven, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Music of Fred Lerdahl, Vol. 5
Windscape, Quattro Mani, Weiss Kaplan Stumpf Trio, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Roberto Abbado
Classical - Released by Bridge Records on 9 May 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 1-3
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Pinchas Zukerman
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 10 Apr 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo