The Mahler Chamber Orchestra is a professional touring chamber orchestra founded by Claudio Abbado and former members of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in 1997.
36-657: The MCO appears throughout the year in about 60–70 concerts and performances. It consists of 45 musicians from 20 different nations. Its activities include concerts, opera projects, chamber music as well as CD recordings. Strong artistic links have been established with Daniel Harding (principal guest conductor 1998–2003, music director 2003–2008, principal conductor 2008–2011 and conductor laureate since 2011) and Claudio Abbado. The MCO has had stable residencies in Ferrara ( Ferrara Musica , founder: Claudio Abbado) and Lucerne ( Lucerne Festival ). The first concert and founding residency of
72-632: A Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to music. Cecilia Bartoli Cecilia Bartoli OMRI ( Italian: [tʃeˈtʃiːlja ˈbartoli] ; born 4 June 1966) is an Italian mezzo-soprano widely known in the music of Bellini , Handel , Mozart , Rossini and Vivaldi and for lesser-known music of the Baroque and Classical periods. She has also sung soprano and alto repertory. Bartoli
108-518: A project entitled Mission , which premiered the works of Agostino Steffani , a lesser-known Baroque composer. Bartoli produced the music of the composer in CD form as well as an extended music video that portrays her as the priest-composer Agostino in the palace of Versallies. The video is known for its historic and visual accuracy of the Baroque period. Cecilia Bartoli's performance and production of Mission reflect
144-699: 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
180-655: A substitute after the resignation of Riccardo Muti earlier in 2005. In 2004, Harding was appointed principal guest conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), as of 2006. One of his new projects with the LSO involved the Sound Adventures program for new compositions. With the LSO, he has conducted a commercial recording of the opera Billy Budd for EMI Classics. He became the Principal Conductor of
216-529: A violist and co-principal violist of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. The marriage ended in divorce. Harding is a particular fan of the football club Manchester United . Harding is a licensed airline pilot, and in 2019 had announced his intention in 2020 to take a sabbatical from conducting to be a commercial pilot with Air France, plans delayed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Harding was appointed
252-542: Is considered a singer with an unusual timbre . According to Nicholas Wroe in 2001, her voice was known for its "fully developed sumptuousness of the lower register, the vibrancy of the middle range...the top was limpid and powerful", and she was one of the most popular opera singers of recent years. Bartoli was born in Rome. Her parents, Silvana Bazzoni and Pietro Angelo Bartoli, were professional singers and gave her her first music lessons. She first performed publicly at age nine as
288-536: Is foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music . In addition to Mozart and Rossini, Bartoli has spent much of her career performing and recording Baroque and early Classical era music by such composers as Gluck , Vivaldi , Haydn and Salieri . In early 2005, she sang Cleopatra in Handel 's Giulio Cesare . She often performs with the Baroque ensemble Il Giardino Armonico . In 2012, Bartoli produced
324-698: Is scheduled to conclude his tenure with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra at the close of the 2024–2025 season. Outside of Europe, in September 2010, Harding took the title of music partner of the New Japan Philharmonic . In April 2012, Harding became artistic director of the Ohga Hall in Karuizawa, Japan. In 2021, Harding conducted the annual Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert for
360-607: The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra . Harding first conducted the Berlin Philharmonic at age 21. At the time of his first conducting appearance at The Proms in 1996, he was then the youngest-ever conductor to appear there. Harding has stated that he has never had formal conducting lessons. He is a former Seiji Ozawa Fellow in conducting at Tanglewood Music Center. In 1997, Harding was the Music Director of
396-724: The Ojai Music Festival alongside pianist Emanuel Ax . Harding has been music director of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (1997–2000), the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (1999–2003) and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (2003–2008). Harding now has the title of conductor laureate with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He conducted the 2005 opening night at La Scala , Milan in Idomeneo , as
SECTION 10
#1732858809530432-809: The Opéra Bastille as Cherubino in Mozart 's The Marriage of Figaro and her debut at the Hamburg State Opera as Idamantes in Mozart's Idomeneo , followed by her La Scala debut as Isolier in Le comte Ory in 1991, a performance that solidified her reputation as one of the world's leading Rossini singers. In 1996, Bartoli made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Despina in Così fan tutte and returned in 1997 to sing
468-669: The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2007. In September 2009, he extended his contract as the orchestra's principal conductor through 2012. In April 2013, the orchestra further announced the extension of Harding's contract to 2015. With the orchestra, he has recorded commercially for the Sony Classical label. In June 2015, the Orchestre de Paris announced the appointment of Harding as its 9th principal conductor, effective September 2016. Harding concluded his tenure in
504-652: 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 -
540-507: The MCO began on 21 November 1997 in Landshut, Germany. The MCO's repertoire reaches from baroque to contemporary music . The MCO is a free-financed orchestra without any state support. Sponsors are, therefore, required to maintain the orchestra. The combined principles of artistic curiosity and the broadest possible spectrum of repertoire, both at the highest possible musical level, was mentioned by
576-458: The Orchestre de Paris post following the close of the 2018–2019 season. In October 2018, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra announced the extension of Harding's contract as principal conductor through 2023, along with granting him the new title of konstnärlig ledare (artistic leader). In November 2021, the orchestra announced an additional extension of Harding's contract through 2025. Harding
612-489: The artistic director of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival , an extension of the traditional Salzburg Festival , which produces performances during Whitsun (Pentecost) weekend. Forgoing the academic programming of her predecessors, she reformulated the festival's programming—returning to "the old recipe of organizing beautiful programs and inviting great artists"—resulting in record ticket sales and placing
648-756: 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
684-751: 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
720-560: The festival on the international opera calendar. In 2012, she sang Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare , in 2013 the title role in Vincenzo Bellini 's Norma , and in 2014 Rossini's La Cenerentola . In December 2019, it was announced that Bartoli would succeed Jean-Louis Grinda as the director of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo , effective on 1 January 2023. She became the first woman to hold
756-493: The first time, the first British conductor to lead this concert. In March 2023, the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia announced the appointment of Harding as its next music director, effective with the 2024–2025 season, with an initial contract of 5 seasons. Harding is foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music . Harding has two children, Adele and George, from his past marriage to Béatrice Muthelet,
SECTION 20
#1732858809530792-531: 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. In the BBC Proms Edition of 2021 the MCO was the only international orchestra that
828-497: The music and aesthetic of Steffani's time period through the setting, wardrobe, and cinematography." In 2007/08, Bartoli devoted her time to studying and recording the early 19th-century repertoire – the era of Italian Romanticism and bel canto – and especially the legendary singer Maria Malibran , the 200th anniversary of whose birth was celebrated in March 2008. The album Maria was released in September 2007. In May 2008, Bartoli sang
864-615: 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
900-474: 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
936-569: 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
972-672: The position. Bartoli lives with her husband, the Swiss bass-baritone Oliver Widmer , in Zollikon on the north shore of Lake Zurich , Switzerland, and in Rome part of the year. The couple married in 2011 after twelve years together. Bartoli lived in Monaco in the early 2010s. Bartoli was appointed Chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1995), and Commander of Monaco's Order of Cultural Merit (November 1999). In 2003, she received
1008-696: The role of Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville at the Cologne Opera , the Schwetzingen Festival and the Zurich Opera earning rave reviews. Working with conductors Daniel Barenboim and Nikolaus Harnoncourt , Bartoli focused on Mozart roles, such as Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Dorabella in Così fan tutte , and from then on her career developed internationally. In 1990, she made her debut at
1044-619: The shepherd boy in Tosca . Bartoli later studied at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome. At the age of 19, she made her singing debut on the Italian television show Fantastico . She did not win the competition but was asked to sing with Paris Opera for an homage concert for Maria Callas . Bartoli made her professional opera debut in 1987 at the Arena di Verona . The following year she undertook
1080-465: 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
1116-612: The title role of La Cenerentola and in 1998 to sing the role of Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro . In 2000, she sang in another Mozart soprano role, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni , at the Deutsche Oper Berlin . In 2001, she made a long-awaited Royal Opera House debut, taking the roles of Euridice and the Genio in the London stage premiere of Haydn 's L'anima del filosofo . She
Mahler Chamber Orchestra - Misplaced Pages Continue
1152-529: The title role written for Malibran in a revival of Fromental Halévy 's 1828 opera Clari at the Zurich Opera. In June 2010, she sang the title role of Bellini's Norma for the first time with conductor Thomas Hengelbrock in a concert at the Konzerthaus Dortmund . In March 2011, Bartoli toured five Australian cities with two programs drawn from Sacrificium and Maria . In 2012, Bartoli became
1188-732: Was a member of the National Youth Orchestra at age 13. At age 17, Harding assembled a group of musicians to perform Pierrot Lunaire of Arnold Schoenberg , and sent a tape of the performance to Simon Rattle in Birmingham. After listening to this tape, Rattle hired Harding as his assistant at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for a year, from 1993 to 1994. Harding then attended the University of Cambridge , but after his first year at university, Claudio Abbado named him his assistant with
1224-524: 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
1260-514: 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 Daniel Harding Daniel John Harding CBE (born 31 August 1975) is a British conductor. Harding was born in Oxford . He studied trumpet at Chetham's School of Music and
1296-425: 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
#529470