See the list of players. The Chamber Orchestra of Europe was founded in 1981 and has a membership of 50 musicians from 15 countries who perform together mainly in continental Europe. Highlights in recent years include three Gramophone 'Record of the Year' awards (for Rossini's opera 'Viaggio a Reims' and the Schubert symphony cycle with Claudio Abbado, and the Beethoven symphony cycle with Nikolaus Harnoncourt which has sold close to one million copies); the broadcast of a six part TV series in the UK; opening the 75th anniversary season of the Salzburg Festival with performances of Mozart's 'Marriage of Figaro' conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt; and in 2002, unforgettable concerts in celebration of the Orchestra's 21st birthday with Claudio Abbado, Anne Sofie von Otter and Thomas Quasthoff which were recorded by Deutsche Grammophon and won the 'Best Classical Vocal Performance' category in the 46th Annual Grammy Awards of 2003. The COE's 2006/2007 season opened with a gala concert at the Köln Philharmonie to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Hall. Peter Eotvos conducted a performance of Strauss: Der Bürger als Edelmann with Harold Schmidt as narrator. Performances of Mozart piano concerti followed with Pierre Laurent Aimard at the keyboard in September, touring to Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London and Vienna. Thomas Hengelbrock joined the orchestra in October bringing an intriguing mix of Mehul, Chen and Beethoven to the podium. Maria João Pires and Emmanuel Krivine returned to COE in November for performances of Mozart Piano Concerto K595 and Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4 with Brahms Second Symphony. The year closed with performances of Cherubini, Petrassi and Beethoven with Roberto Abbado. The Orchestra launched its 2007 programme in Salzburg with concerts in the Mozart Woche festival, which were followed by an extensive European tour with Andras Schiff. Other concerts included performances during the summer with Thomas Ades and with appearances at the Styriarte Festival in Graz with Nikolaus Harnoncourt; there were also visits to the Edinburgh, Lucerne and Bremen festivals. In the Autumn tours took place with Mitsuko Uchida and Tabea Zimmerman, and the year drew to a close with a series of European concerts conducted by Leif Ove Andsnes. As spring approaches in 2008 the Orchestra is looking forward to one of its most challenging and exciting seasons which incorporates a new residency in Lisbon, concerts with Andras Schiff in Budapest and Dublin, and major works by Beethoven conducted by Bernard Haitink at the Lucerne Festival. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Sanctuary Classics re-launched 15 of the original highly successful series of recordings made on the Orchestra’s own label, COE Records. In the March 2008 issue of Gramophone the EMI release of Thomas Ades’s Violin Concerto performed by Anthony Marwood with the COE has been selected as the magazine’s Recording of the Month. Click for photos of the orchestra.