Chamber Orchestra of Europe

The Chamber Orchestra of Europe was founded in 1981. It draws its membership of fifty musicians from fifteen countries; they perform with the world’s leading conductors and soloists mainly in continental Europe where the Orchestra has developed important links with the cities of Cologne, Frankfurt, Graz, London, Lucerne, Paris and Salzburg.

In fact, the Orchestra launched last year’s programme in Salzburg, with concerts at the Mozartwoche Festival followed by an extensive European tour with Andras Schiff. Other concerts included performances during the summer with Thomas Ades, and appearances at the styriarte Festival in Graz with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, as well as visits to the Edinburgh, Lucerne and Bremen Festivals. Last autumn tours took place across Europe in the company of Leif Ove Andsnes, Douglas Boyd, Thomas Hengelbrock, Stephen Isserlis, Mitsuko Uchida and Tabea Zimmerman.

One of the Orchestra’s most challenging and exciting schedules began in 2008, incorporating a new residency in Lisbon, concerts with Andras Schiff in Budapest and Dublin, and a new Beethoven cycle with Bernard Haitink which began at the Lucerne Easter Festival. During the first half of the year the Orchestra also visits Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Graz and Paris, working with Pierre Laurent Aimard, Franz Bruggen and Roger Norrington.

The Orchestra is renowned for the quality of its recordings which number over 250 and for which it has won many international awards. In celebration of the COE’s 25th anniversary Sanctuary Classics re-launched15 of the original highly successful series of recordings made on the Orchestra’s own label, COE Records. Most recently, the COE’s recordings (Thomas Ades’s Violin Concerto performed by Anthony Marwood, and Deutsche Grammophon’s release of the Mendelssohn violin concerto and Octet conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock with Daniel Hope) have been receiving nothing but top star-rated reviews.

Over the last few years the Orchestra has benefited from substantial financial support provided by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation, and during 2007 it received further significant support from the European Union as a result of being appointed one of its European Cultural Ambassadors.

François Leleux, oboe
Romain Guyot, clarinet
Jonathan Williams, horn
Rachel Gough, bassoon

The Chamber Orchestra of Europe is supported

by the European Union Culture Programme

The COE is supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation.