Irish Chamber Orchestra
Versatile and equally at home as part of a rock concert or a contemporary music program, the Irish Chamber Orchestra is one of Ireland's most popular ensembles of any kind. The group has had an international orientation and a succession of non-Irish conductors from the beginning, and its reputation extends far beyond the shores of the Emerald Isle. The Irish Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1963 by Hungarian conductor János Fürst, who also later served as concertmaster and assistant conductor of the Ulster Orchestra. In 1970, under new principal conductor André Prieur, the group was rechristened the New Irish Chamber Orchestra, but it reverted to its original name in 1995 when it assumed its headquarters at the University of Limerick. An unusual feature of the orchestra is that it maintains its own state-of-the-art recording studio on that school's campus. Its music directors have included Fionnuala Hunt, Nicholas McGegan, and Anthony Marwood, and in the 2010s it has been led by an unusual partnership of principal artistic partner Gabor Tákacs-Nagy (another Hungarian) and principal guest conductor Jörg Widmann, also a prominent clarinetist. The Irish Chamber Orchestra presents a concert series each year in Limerick and Dublin, and it has an impressive record of foreign touring for a small orchestra from a small country: it has appeared on tour across Europe, Australia, South Korea, China, and North and South America, with Widmann's presence leading to frequent appearances in Germany especially. The Irish Chamber Orchestra is a reliable festival guest across Europe, beginning a three-year residency at Germany's Heidelberger-Frühling Festival in 2016, and it has appeared in a classic rock program at the Irish rock festival Feile-The Trip to Tipp. With Chamber Choir Ireland, it presented the Irish premiere of James MacMillan's Stabat Mater. The orchestra has been vigorous in its support of musicians in Limerick, providing free music teaching to some 300 children there, and teaching classes in the University of Limerick Music Department's strings program. The Irish Chamber Orchestra has recorded for Black Box Classics, Virgin Classics, Tayberry, Toccata Classics, and Orfeo, on which the group, under Widmann, released a cycle of Mendelssohn's symphonies that offered the Symphony No. 5 in D major, Op. 108 ("Reformation"), in 2017.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discography
16 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Metamorphosis
Sergei Nakariakov, Jörg Widmann, Irish Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Luiza Records on Jul 21, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Be All Merry
The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin, Irish Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Oct 16, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Piazzolla, Schubert & Schnittke: Works for Violin & Chamber Orchestra
Irish Chamber Orchestra, Katherine Hunka, Nicola Sweeney
Chamber Music - Released by Orchid Classics on Mar 27, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Widmann, Strauss & Beethoven: Con brio
Jörg Widmann, Irish Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on Sep 17, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Weber: Clarinet Quintet, Concertino for Clarinet, Grand Duo Concertant & Der Freischütz Overture
Jörg Widmann, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Denis Kozhukhin
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on Aug 28, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 in D Major, Op. 107, MWV N 15 "Reformation"
Irish Chamber Orchestra, Mojca Erdmann, Jörg Widmann, Unknown Artist
Classical - Released by Orfeo on May 12, 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 in A Minor "Scottish" & The Hebrides - Jörg Widmann: 180 Beats per Minute & Fantasie
Irish Chamber Orchestra, Jörg Widmann
Classical - Released by Orfeo on Apr 20, 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ten Years from Now
Vyvienne Long, Irish Chamber Orchestra
Pop - Released by Happyhazard on Feb 7, 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Róisín ReImagined
Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Irish Chamber Orchestra
Folk - Released by Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh and Irish Chamber Orchestra on Nov 11, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Letters
Chamber Choir Ireland, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Paul Hillier, Unknown Artist
Classical - Released by Naxos on Nov 20, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Be All Merry
Irish Chamber Orchestra, The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin, Katherine Hunka
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Oct 7, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
In Dulci Jubilo
Irish Chamber Orchestra, The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Sep 16, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Kinsella: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 10
Bill Golding, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Gerard O'Connor, Gabor Takacs-Nagy, RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Colman Pearce
Classical - Released by Toccata Classics on Sep 2, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Róisín Dubh
Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Irish Chamber Orchestra
Folk - Released by Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh and Irish Chamber Orchestra on Nov 4, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Carol of the Bells
Irish Chamber Orchestra, The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Oct 14, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4 - Widmann: Ad absurdum
Classical - Released by Orfeo on May 27, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo