What Conductors and Soloists say about the COE
Well, this is a very unique orchestra you know? They decided 30 years ago to found an orchestra... and the best possible musicians joined for this project, and worked on great pieces with great conductors or musicians. They are people from an incredibly fine culture, and a very incredibly refined orchestra musically. In the history of the orchestra, I arrived in the latter part [performing Beethoven concertos under Harnoncourt and directing Mozart from the keyboard]. The COE was already established and incredibly unified. Don’t forget that this is an orchestra that was not founded by an outsider – I mean a conductor – but by musicians themselves, who wanted to share in music-making, and we can understand that even after a quarter of a century there is a strong common wish to go on with the project. It’s a pleasure to share music with them – an indestructible joy.
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Pianist
I cannot imagine a chamber orchestra which plays at a higher level; they are always impeccably prepared and the magnitude of their musicianship is beyond comment. It's my great pleasure and privilege to be standing in front of them.
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Conductor
This is the orchestra I have the biggest admiration for. Each member is a unique musician and it feels like they all share wisdom, knowledge, good taste and a great instinct for music. I find it remarkable that in certain symphonies, which can often sound very heavy and grounded, COE, with its round and warm tone, brings its special, natural genius for music making to every work - this is so rare to find.
Lisa Batiashvili, Violinist
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe symbolizes an idealistic vision of sharing a lifelong quest in search of musical expression, which is based on both extraordinary musical talent and human compatibility. Here, the intimacy of chamber music is extended to an orchestral experience, in which idealism and intellectual curiosity help nurture each other. The atmosphere of youthful intensity, joy of making music and being together, absence of routine, these are the signature characteristics of COE, which make them a very distinct star in the musical universe.
Semyon Bychkov, Conductor
The COE is special, inspiring!
Ivan Fischer, Conductor
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe is […] highly responsive: everything happens immediately. More than an orchestra, it is in fact a group of exceptionally talented musicians. As true chamber musicians, they are used to listening to each other, without being exclusively focused on the conductor. This matches exactly the idea I have of conducting an orchestra.
For Le Figaro, 19/01/2011
I can only say that this is an immense pleasure to work with these people. They are unique. They are 30 years old and of course there are many new, younger members, but they still have the same enthusiasm and extreme professionalism which many orchestras would envy them. I’m over the moon to work with them.
Bernard Haitink, Conductor
I see the COE as individual musicians and this is a special quality. Every single personality has its value. This forms a different orchestra from the more anonymous great orchestras elsewhere. There is also a spirit of adventure. The first things we did [in the early 1990s] were the symphonies of Beethoven. It was the only orchestra of that quality that had never played his symphonies before. This was a great part of the quality of the performances, because the shock of those great works is much bigger when the musicians feel it for the first time. They bring something fresh.
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Conductor
Working with the COE is always an enormous challenge and an equally enormous joy. Every musician of this orchestra has a strongly developed musical personality and clear views on the questions of musical performance and style. And so any conductor coming to the COE has the impossible task of converting all of these different and very strong personalities into his view of the piece. But once this has been achieved the joy of music-making on the stratospherically high level begins! All musicians in the COE give their absolute 150 % in concert but what is even more important is that where for many orchestras the creative work ends with the last rehearsal, for the COE the process of the true creativity only starts with the first concert. They simply never get tired of looking for more colors, trying to penetrate even deeper into the piece which is being performed, always sensitively following the conductor's intentions but also offering new ideas of their own!... In short - an inspirational orchestra!
Vladimir Jurowski, Conductor
I have admired the Chamber Orchestra of Europe since my student years through wonderful concerts and recordings; I also had the privilege to witness very closely the work of these great musicians with the late Carlo Maria Giulini. Some years later, when I first stood among them to make music, we immediately felt a very unique connection. The artistry, enthusiasm, dedication and knowledge of these musicians have no boundaries. Every single moment with the COE counts amongst the most treasured in my life as a musician. I am looking forward to many more moments like these.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Conductor
The COE is simply the best orchestra I know: animated, soulful and full of the divine sense of purpose that makes all music so worthwhile. And it is the greatest incarnation of the European cultural ideal.”
Sakari Oramo, Conductor
There are orchestras, good ones, great ones and then there is the COE. This is a community of individuals who love music and who obviously enjoy being together. Like in good chamber music, there is a constant flow of give and take. It is a unique ensemble. There is no routine. Most of the members play chamber music – in string quartets, wind quintets and different formations – when they are not in the orchestra, so there is a high level of listening to one another. They come from different countries and schools of playing, but they have their very own sound as an ensemble. It’s also an incredibly intelligent orchestra. I have played concertos, directed from the keyboard, and now also conduct the symphonic repertoire. The rehearsals are a joy. You don’t have to say things twice. The collective sensitivity and intelligence of this group is admirable. Together they represent the very essence of Europe, something the politicians of the EU could learn from. It makes me happy and proud to be associated with this unique ‘orchestra’.
Andras Schiff, Pianist
The COE’s strength is the commitment of the players. When they get together, they play with enormous pleasure.
Mitsuko Uchida, Pianist