Latest recording news

‘Orchestra of the Year’ nomination
We are truly delighted, moved and honoured to have been nominated with seven other terrific ensembles for the “Orchestra of the Year” Award by Gramophone. As the only chamber orchestra amongst the seven other terrific ensembles, the COE has been selected by Gramophone’s editors in recognition of excellence and for its outstanding works on record over the past year. The excitement of public voting is now over and we keep our fingers crossed to hear the final outcome. The winner will be revealed at the 2018 Gramophone Classical Music Awards Ceremony on 13 September.

Shortlisted three times
COE’s nomination is based in particular on our recordings of the Mendelssohn Symphonies with Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Deutsche Grammophon), the album Visions of Prokofiev with Lisa Batiashvili (Deutsche Grammophon) and the Mozart Piano Concertos No 25 & 27 with Piotr Anderszewski (Warners). All three recordings have now been shortlisted in different categories for the Gramophone’s Classical Music Awards as well.

Release of La Clemenza di Tito
Our residency at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus this year for the concert performances of The Magic Flute coincides with the release of La Clemenza di Tito, following last year’s recorded performances. Yannick Nézet-Seguin and Rolando Villazon were joined by a stellar cast featuring Joyce DiDonato, Marina Rebeka, Regina Mühlemann and Tara Erraught. This next addition to the live recorded Mozart series was released by Deutsche Grammophon on 6 July.

“With their lively phrasings and sharp attack, there’s also something refreshingly surprising about Nézet-Séguin and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. After the supercharged overture it’s a shock to land on just a fortepiano and cello preparing us for the first recitative, where Vitellia lays out her brilliant plan to set the Capitol on fire and get Tito killed in the rumpus. La clemenza di Tito may never become anyone’s favourite Mozart opera, but this recording brings its drama roaring to life and scotches the work’s old reputation as a dry dud.” – Times

Visions of Prokofiev with Lisa Batiashvili
We are grateful that Lisa Batiashvili has chosen to work with the COE for her latest album “Visions of Prokofiev”, which is shortlisted in the ‘concerto’ category for this years’ Gramophone Awards. She explained her choice in various interviews, recalling the recording sessions as her most memorable musical experience in The Strad of February 2018. Speaking to BBC’s Clemency Burton-Hill, Lisa said the following:

“The very unique sound this orchestra can make is how I imagined the ideal version of these works would sound. Yannick gives a lot of freedom to those musicians to express their own individuality, proving it is possible to be an orchestra with a chamber music attitude. There is great generosity in their playing: they have an incredible timeless style which means it doesn’t belong to any fashion or school. That is something I long dreamed of having for this recording.” – BBC Music Magazine

Mozart Piano Concertos with Piotr Anderszewski
Piotr Anderszewski recorded the pairing of Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos 25 and 27 with the COE  in the summer of 2017 following a series of concerts in which he directed the Orchestra from the keyboard. The album is now shortlisted for a Gramophone Award in the ‘concerto’ category and was already selected by the German circle of music critics in their second ‘Bestenliste‘ of this year. The recording continues receiving further critical acclaim in the press:

“The playing of the COE is beyond reproach, as is the profound sense of collaboration between players and soloist throughout.” – Limelight Magazine 

“It is the intimacy of [Anderszewski’s] rapport with the (sadly uncredited) wind soloists of the COE that makes this issue so special. His pristine finger work is always at the service of the score in continuous dialogue with the orchestral musicians, but he brings personal touches to these frequently recorded pieces. […] One listens with refreshed ears to this familiar music.” – The Sunday Times (£)

Mendelssohn Symphonies 1-5 with Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Yannick Nézet-Séguin led the COE in a complete cycle of Mendelssohn’s five symphonies on tour  across Europe in 2016. This album featuring sopranos Karina Gauvin and Regula Mühlemann, tenor Daniel Behle and the RIAS Kammerchor is the live capture of the performances at the Philharmonie de Paris. The recording is now shortlisted for a Gramophone Award in the ‘orchestral’ category.

“Nézet-Séguin and the orchestra summon up an appropriately dark, misty sound for the first, and a bright, joyous sound for the second. It’s all unimpeachably refined . . . anyone looking for a reliable complete set of Mendelssohn’s symphonies couldn’t do better.” – The Daily Telegraph

“Nézet-Séguin approaches the symphonies of Mendelssohn with an exploratory mind and deep care for colour, the COE responding with brilliance throughout this impressive set.” – Gramophone

“The symphonies are a whirlwind tour of Europe: from the windswept coasts of Scotland to verdant Italian hillsides to grand Lutheran churches. Nézet-Séguin’s intuitive sense of Mendelssohn’s melodies lends these disparate geographies profound unity, animated brilliantly by the COE.” – included in the Best Classical Recordings of 2017 on WQXR