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About
The Basel Chamber Orchestra is recognised as one of the leading chamber orchestras in the classical music scene. Invitations to the most important worldwide concert houses and festivals shape their agenda, as well as their own subscription concerts in Basel.
Various recordings on classical labels like Sony, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and Warner classics, many awarded with prestigious prizes, are witnesses to the excellent quality of the musical ensembles joy of playing together. The innovative, artistically independent ensemble is always searching for new and far-reaching ways of interpretation through constant development of its harmonious sound on both historical and modern instruments. This diversity and depth has become its international trademark.
The Basel Chamber Orchestra works with artists such as Maria João Pires, Sol Gabetta, Nuria Rial, Christoph Prégardien, Erwin Schrott and René Jacobs.
The association of principal guest conductor, Giovanni Antonini with the ensemble makes for a fruitful collaboration. A highlight being the Beethoven cycle which the orchestra and the outstanding baroque specialist worked on together. For these historically informed interpretations, they were awarded the ECHO Klassik in the category for Best Ensemble in 2008.
The Basel Chamber Orchestra alternating with the Italian Ensemble Il Giardino Armonico will perform and record for CD, under the baton of Antonini, all of Haydn’s 107 symphonies up until the year 2032. Further major projects will be concerts and recordings of all Schubert symphonies under the leadership of Heinz Holliger as well as a series of concert performed operas. Apart from the Viennese Classics and baroque programmes, the orchestra promotes contemporary music. Together with its co-production partners the Theater an der Wien, the Theâtre Champs-Élysées Paris and the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, the Basel Chamber Orchestra also performed a range of weighty operas in concert style, from Haydn’s “Armida” and Mozart’s “Da Ponte” operas to Beethoven’s “Fidelio”. By focusing on listening to the performances, it is possible to really appreciate the artistry of these operas. Yearly composition assignments and the involvement in the «Basel Composition Competition» are witnesses to their commitment. A core element is also the visionary imparting of artistic education through creative exchange with children and young people.
Clariant International Ltd. has been the main sponsor of the Basel Chamber Orchestra since January 2013.
History
The Basel Chamber Orchestra can look back on a successful and impressive history. Formed in the 1980s out of a group of highly-motivated music students, the ensemble has become an internationally-renowned and important orchestra. Guest performances at the most popular concert halls in the world and regular invitations to renowned festivals around Europe are proof of the high level of recognition of the most internationally-successful Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland.
The Basel Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1984 as Serenata Basel by graduates from a range of Swiss Music Colleges. By 1998, Johannes Schläfli had become conductor.
In 1999 it was renamed to the Basel Chamber Orchestra. Since then the chamber orchestra has developed its programme under the leadership of its own concertmasters and guests, as well as in cooperation
with selected soloists like Maria João Pires, Sol Gabetta, Nuria Rial, Christoph Prégardien, Erwin Schrott, Khatia Buniatishvili and Patricia Kopatchinskaja, as well as conductors like Trevor Pinnock, Mario Venzago, Heinz Holliger, René Jacobs and Christophe Rousset. Since 2015/16, Giovanni Antonini, with whom the Basel Chamber Orchestra has had a close artistic relationship for years, has been the Principle Guest Conductor.