Baden-Baden 2024
16th - 22nd July 2024
Baden-Baden residency
We are thrilled to be working with Joyce again as we have such fond memories of our previous collaboration on the recording of the Mozart opera La Clemenza di Tito back in July 2017 for Deutsche Grammophon – as part of our late Mozart opera recording series with Yannick. Her duet with Romain Guyot on the clarinet in ‘Parto, parto’ was “purely magical” and she had said, “performing with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe has been a dream, I have never heard wind-playing, string-playing and horn-playing quite so beautiful.” We are also looking forward to performing with Seong-Jin Cho again after our concerts conducted by Andres Orozco-Estrada last year at the Canary Islands Festival, our performance of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 in 2022 in Baden-Baden with Yannick and our recording of Mozart’s piano concerto No. 20 in 2018 for Deutsche Grammophon, also in Baden-Baden with Yannick.
This year, their focus in the concerts will be on Malher’s Rückert-Lieder and Symphony No. 4 with Joyce DiDonato on 20th July, followed by Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ Symphony and Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 4 and 5 with Seong-Jin Cho on the 21st. In addition, Yannick Nézet-Séguin (on the piano) and Joyce DiDonato will be joined by COE soloists Marieke Blankestijn, Maia Cabeza (violin), Nimrod Guez (viola) and William Conway (cello) on 19th July for a chamber music concert featuring Brahms lieder and Elgar’ piano quintet op. 84.
The COE and Yannick
Since their first project together in 2008, the COE and Yannick have developed a very special relationship, resulting in Yannick becoming one of the Orchestra’s Honorary Members. Aside from their many tours together, they have also been very prolific with their recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, releasing Schumann, Mendelssohn and Beethoven Symphony Cycles, five Mozart operas (Cosi Fan Tutte, The Marriage of Figaro, La Clemenza di Tito, Die Entführung aus dem Serail and The Magic Flute), a fine disc that combined Clara Wieck-Schumann’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and her husband Robert’s Piano Concerto with Beatrice Rana, Prokofiev’s Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with Lisa Batiashvili and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 with Seong-Jin Cho, who rejoins them now. The Brahms Symphony cycle to be released this year will be their 12th recording together.
To find out more about this strong partnership, please watch this short video featuring interviews with Yannick and COE players:
Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the COE
Joyce DiDonato
Multi-Grammy Award winner and 2018 Olivier Award winner for Outstanding Achievement in Opera, Kansas-born Joyce DiDonato entrances audiences across the globe, and has been proclaimed “perhaps the most potent female singer of her generation” by The New Yorker. With a voice “nothing less than 24-carat gold” according to The Times, Joyce has towered at the top of the industry both as a performer, a producer, and a fierce advocate for the arts. With a repertoire spanning over four centuries, a varied and highly acclaimed discography, and industry-leading projects, her artistry has defined what it is to be a singer in the 21st century.
Read more about Joyce DiDonato on her website.
Seong-Jin Cho
Seong-Jin Cho was brought to the world’s attention in 2015 when he won First Prize at the Chopin International Competition in Warsaw, and his career has rapidly ascended since. In January 2016, he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon, and in 2023 Cho was awarded the prestigious Samsung Ho-Am Prize in the Arts, in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the world of classical music. An artist high in demand, Cho works with the world’s most prestigious orchestras including Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, New York Philharmonic and The Philadelphia Orchestra. Conductors he regularly collaborates with include Myung-Whun Chung, Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Simon Rattle, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Lahav Shani.
Find out more about Seong Jin on his website.