Mahler Chamber Orchestra

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra (MCO) was founded in 1997 as a self-determined and freely financed orchestra with the aim of creating profound musical experiences. Today, 45 musicians from 27 countries form the regular roster and perform worldwide; residencies regularly take the ensemble to New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Southbank Centre, the Berlin Philharmonie, and the Vienna Musikverein, as well as to Lucerne Festival, the Salzburg Mozartwoche, the Bonn Beethovenfest, and the Festival de Saint-Denis. Starting in 2024, the MCO will take over artistic direction of the Hitzacker Music Week, and as of 2026 it will be responsible for the opera productions at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival. The orchestra’s characteristic sound is characterized by a chamber music-like approach of listening to each other. The MCO was significantly influenced by its founding mentor Claudio Abbado and its Conductor Laureate Daniel Harding. It works closely with a network of Artistic Partners. These currently include the pianists Mitsuko Uchida and Yuja Wang, the violinist Pekka Kuusisto, and the conductor Daniele Gatti as Artistic Advisor. Sir Simon Rattle and Maxim Emelyanychev conducted the orchestra for the first time in the 2023-24 season. With sound expert Henrik Oppermann from the company Schallgeber, the MCO creates sound installations that have been presented in Bonn, Dortmund, Frankfurt, and Princeton. The musicians train the next generation at the MCO Academy and promote joint learning and creativity beyond the traditional concert format through numerous projects.

Lucerne Festival (IMF) debut on 8 September 1999, when Kurt Masur conducted works by Mozart and Beethoven.

For further information on this ensemble, visit their homepage at: http://www.mahlerchamber.com

April 2024