The Mahler Chamber Orchestra and its founder Claudio Abbado appear for two concerts in Italy

Immediately following their concert series together in South America, Claudio Abbado and the MCO begin their next joint project.

The first concert will take place on 30 March in Ferrara, one of the orchestra’s residencies, including Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, Prokofiev’s 3rd piano concerto and the rarely performed violin concerto by Kurt Weill. Soloists will be Kolja Blacher and Martha Argerich, with whom the MCO last performed in 2003 in Ferrara. The live-recording of Beethoven’s piano concerto no. 3 made then was awarded a Grammy in 2006. On 31 March, Reggio Emilia will see Claudio Abbado, Kolja Blacher and the MCO playing Beethoven and Weill. The Teatro Municipale Romolo Valli is one of the venues the MCO has visited regularly since its founding. Two years ago, Claudio Abbado’s very successful first production of Mozart’s Magic Flute had its premiere here. Soloist Kolja Blacher has also been a very welcome and familiar partner of the MCO for many years.

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2007. The orchestra was founded in 1997 on the initiative of Claudio Abbado and a group of musicians from the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. The combined principles of artistic curiosity and the broadest possible spectrum of repertoire, both at the highest possible musical level, guided the ambitious ensemble in its founding and continue to shape its work today. The first concert of the MCO took place on 21 November 1997 in Landshut. MCO music director Daniel Harding will conduct the anniversary concert on 31 October in Ferrara.

Programme and cast: Please visit www.mahler-chamber.de

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1997 on the initiative of Claudio Abbado. The ensemble’s repertoire reaches from baroque to contemporary and includes everything from chamber music to symphonic programming, from operatic standards to world premieres. Daniel Harding became music director in summer 2003 and conducts a large percentage of the orchestra’s 70-80 concerts and opera performances each year. Projects with noted specialists in particular techniques or repertoire also make up an important element of the orchestra’s program, strengthening its reputation as a multi-faceted ensemble.

The core of the MCO is made up of approximately 50 musicians of 19 different nationalities. The Mahler Chamber Orchestra is orchestra-in-residence in Aix-en-Provence, Ferrara, Toblach, Landshut, and at the Mozartwoche Salzburg. Long-term contracts also connect the orchestra to the Sintonie Festival in Torino and the Lucerne Festival. In its nine years, the MCO has recorded several prize-winning CDs. Discs recorded under the direction of Daniel Harding include among others: Don Giovanni and The Turn of the Screw (recipient of several awards, including the Choc de l’ année 2002). The live recording of Beethoven’s 2nd and 3rd piano concertos with Claudio Abbado and Martha Argerich was honoured with a Grammy Award.

Andrea Kerner
Public Relations
Mahler Chamber Orchestra e.V.
Heinrich-Roller-Str. 16-17
10405 Berlin
Phone 0049 30 41 71 79 21
Fax 0049 30 41 71 79 29
a.kerner@mahler-chamber.de
www.mahler-chamber.de

This release was published on openPR.