Biography
The combined principles of artistic curiosity and the broadest possible spectrum of repertoire, both at the highest possible musical level, was mentioned by the ensemble as reasons for its founding and its work today.
Maintaining high standard collaborations with high-profile partners has been of particular importance, from the very beginning, in the selection of soloists and conductors as well as concert promoters and venues. Alongside founder Claudio Abbado, Daniel Harding has been a determining figure in the development of the orchestra. Serving at first as principal guest conductor, Harding became music director in summer 2003, Principal Conductor in 2008 and Conductor Laureate in 2011. The orchestra also maintains close artistic relationships with its Artistic Partner Leif Ove Andsnes. Projects with noted specialists in particular techniques or repertoire also make up an important element of the orchestra's program. Baroque workshops, at which specialists instruct in historical performance practice, have been a part of the MCO's schedule since 2004, and the MCO regularly works with experts in early or contemporary music, such as Reinhard Goebel or Jonathan Nott.
The independently financed MCO is flexible its organisational structure. The core of the MCO is made up of approximately 45 musicians of 20 different nationalities. Additional musicians are engaged as needed. The ensemble comes together for single projects, composing itself according to the specific requirements of each individual program. This has led to the development of a cultivated and sensitive orchestral sound which has become the ensemble's trademark. Rather than having a single fixed home base, the orchestra has residencies in various European cities, which provide rehearsal opportunities and often a launching point for worldwide tours. The Mahler Chamber Orchestra is orchestra-in-residence in Ferrara. Long-term contracts also connect the orchestra to the Lucerne Festival, where the orchestra has performed since 2003.
The orchestra had its international breakthrough just a year after its founding with Mozart's opera Don Giovanni , which premiered at the Festival International d’Art Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence in 1998 under the direction of Claudio Abbado and Daniel Harding. The ensuing world tour of this production not only brought the ensemble international acclaim, but also led to a residency contract with the Aix-en-Provence festival. Since then, the orchestra has collaborated on many notable and successful productions in Aix, including: The Turn of the Screw (Daniel Harding/Luc Bondy, 2001), Eugen Onegin (Daniel Harding/Irina Brook), The Love of Three Oranges (Tugan Sokhiev/Philippe Calvario, 2004), Così fan tutte (Daniel Harding/Patrice Chéreau, 2005) and Written on Skin (George Benjamin/Martin Crimp, 2012.) A residency contract with Ferrara Musica was signed in 1998, providing for two concert series a year. In addition to opera projects with Claudio Abbado, concert series with MCO music director Daniel Harding and renowned guest conductors such as Christopher Hogwood, Philippe Herreweghe, Paavo Järvi, Murray Perahia and Vladimir Ashkenazy also take place here. Soloists such as Cecilia Bartoli, Martha Argerich, Christian Tetzlaff or Emanuel Ax join the orchestra for concert programs that serve to draw ever-increasing attention to the orchestra both in Ferrara and on an international level.
In its sixteen years, the MCO has recorded several prize-winning CDs. Discs recorded under the direction of Daniel Harding include: Don Giovanni, The Turn of the Screw (recipient of several awards, including the Choc de l’année 2002), Haydn Cello Concertos with Gautier Capuçon (Choc du monde de la musique 2003, among others), Gustav Mahler’s Fourth Symphony in a recording was received enthusiastically by the international press (all released by Virgin Classics) and Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto. The Deutsche Grammophon release of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique as conducted by Marc Minkowski received the Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2003. Recordings with founder Claudio Abbado have also been released by Deutsche Grammophon: Italian opera arias with Anna Netrebko and works for oboe by Mozart and Lebrun with Albrecht Mayer. The live recording of Beethoven’s 2nd and 3rd piano concertos with Martha Argerich was honoured with a Grammy Award, and the recording of violin concertos of Stravinsky and Alban Berg with Kolja Blacher won a Diapason d’Or. In 2013, the first album of the Beethoven Cycle with Leif Ove Andsnes as soloist and conductor was released, featuring Piano Concertos nos. 1 and 3, in February 2014, the second album cycle was released, featuring Piano Concertos nos. 2 and 4.
The annual concerts at the Lucerne Festival (where the Mahler Chamber Orchestra performs not only as the core of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, but also in its usual formation in its own concerts), regular opera and concert projects at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, chamber music series, invitations to high-profile European festivals and extensive tours to locations around the world - the list of activities grows ever longer.
Daniele Gatti has been appointed Artistic Advisor of MCO starting from 27 May 2016.
The Mahler Chamber Orchestra has also been featured in a touring Virtual Reality experience, "Symphony: A Virtual Journey into the Heart of Music" led by conductor Gustavo Dudamel, since 22 September 2020. [2]
In the BBC Proms Edition of 2021 the MCO was the only international orchestra that was invited to play a concert, under the baton of George Benjamin. From the season of 2023-2024, the orchestra will act as Artistic Director of the Hitzacker Musikwoche for a period of five years.
References
The Berlin Philharmonic is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
Claudio Abbado was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera, founder and director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, founder and director of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, founding artistic director of the Orchestra Mozart and music director of the European Union Youth Orchestra.
Riccardo Chailly is an Italian conductor. He is currently music director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and of La Scala. Prior to this, he held chief conducting positions at the Gewandhausorchester (2005–2016); the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (1988–2004); the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (1982–1988); and the Teatro Comunale of Bologna (1986–1993). He was also the first musical director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi (1999–2005) and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1983–1986).
Daniel John Harding is a British conductor.
Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (GMJO) is a youth orchestra based in Vienna, Austria, founded in 1986 by conductor Claudio Abbado, and named after Gustav Mahler. It is an associated member of the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras.
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe (COE), established in 1981, is an orchestra based in London. The orchestra comprises about 60 members from across Europe. The players pursue parallel careers as international soloists, members of chamber groups and as tutors and teachers of music. The orchestra receives substantial support from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the Underwood Trust; they have no single home resident hall and no appointed resident conductor. The orchestra is a registered charity under English law.
The Arnold Schoenberg Choir is a Viennese/Austrian choir which was founded 1972 by Erwin Ortner, who is still its artistic director. The choir has a high reputation both among conductors and among critics and the musical scene in general. All members of the choir have broad experience and expertise in vocal music; most of them have graduated from or are currently studying at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. The choir is named after Viennese composer Arnold Schoenberg.
Christoph Koncz is an Austrian-Hungarian conductor, performing internationally with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra London, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, hr‑Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal and Hong Kong Philharmonic.
The Lucerne Festival Orchestra is a European ad hoc seasonal orchestra based at the annual Lucerne Festival in Switzerland.
The Orfeón Donostiarra is a concert choir based in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain.
Ivan Podyomov is a Russian oboist and currently principal oboe of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Yuja Wang is a Chinese pianist. Born in Beijing, she began learning piano there at age six, and went on to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Antoine Marguier was born in 1969 in Switzerland, he is an orchestra conductor and pedagogue.
Alexander Lonquich is a German classical pianist and conductor.
The Orchestra Mozart or Orchestra Mozart Bologna is an Italian orchestra based in Bologna.
The Lucerne Festival Academy is an orchestra-sized educational institution devoted exclusively to the interpretation and performance of contemporary classical music. It has taken place each summer since 2003 in the Swiss city of Lucerne as part of the Lucerne Festival in Summer. Founded by the French composer Pierre Boulez and festival director Michael Haefliger, over 1300 young musicians from over 60 countries have taken part in the Academy, described by The Guardian as "the annual laboratory in which brilliant young musicians are immersed in the performance practice of 20th- and 21st-century music".
Accentus Music is a German classical music record label and production company founded in March 2010 in Leipzig, Germany, where the company is based. The label produces audio recordings (CD) and video (DVD/Blu-ray).
Antonello Manacorda is an Italian violinist and conductor, especially of opera, who has worked internationally. He has been the chief conductor of the Kammerakademie Potsdam and of Het Gelders Orkest.
Konstantía Gourzí is a Greek composer and conductor. She is professor of ensemble conducting and new music at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich.
Christoph Strehl is a German tenor in opera and concert. He has appeared at major opera houses internationally, regarded as a specialist for Mozart roles, but performing a broad repertoire. He appeared as Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Claudio Abbado on the conductor's first recording of the opera. He is professor of voice at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.
