Münchener Kammerorchester- Enrico Onofri

Biography

The Münchener Kammerorchester (Munich Chamber Orchestra, or MKO) has been thrilling audiences throughout the world with its varied programmes that deftly combine the old and the new, as well as with its distinctive sound and a top-calibre level of its performances. The core of the ensemble consists of 28 permanently employed string players from 14 countries. A stellar group of regular guests from top-tier European orchestras offers the MKO the flexibility to expand its forces, enabling it to deliver benchmark performances of masterpieces from the classical and romantic repertoire, as well as those of our time. With great curiosity and open-mindedness, along with its affinity for innovative concert formats and new cultural synergies, the MKO projects a unique artistic profile.

Begining with its 2022-23 season, the MKO (founded in 1950 by Christoph Stepp) shifted from having a principal conductor to working instead with three renowned ‘Associated Conductors’ at once: Enrico Onofri, Bas Wiegers, and Jörg Widmann, all of whom perfectly embody the orchestra’s broad spectrum and unbridled will to probe new dimensions in music from the baroque era to the present day. They join forces with a number of fellow musicians with whom the orchestra has worked on a regular basis: Isabelle Faust, Nicolas Altstaedt, Vilde Frang, Christian Tetzlaff, and Alexander Lonquich among them. The MKO places great store on the cultivation and development of the chamber orchestra repertoire. It has commissioned and/or premièred scores of new works by composers of the stature of Iannis Xenakis, Wolfgang Rihm, Tan Dun, Chaya Czernowin, Pascal Dusapin, Georg Friedrich Haas, Tigran Mansurian, Jörg Widmann, Thomas Larcher, and Salvatore Sciarrino.

The MKO gives about a third of its concerts as part of its own subscription series in Munich and in collaboration with other local institutions. Its wide-ranging cultural outreach activities allow it to reach a diverse and adventurous audience. Some 40 concerts per year have taken the orchestra to renowned concert halls all over the globe, including tours of Asia, Spain, Scandinavia, and South America. Its substantial discography bears witness to the artistic activity of the orchestra, in a repertoire that ranges from the classical period to the present day. The MKO records for ECM Records, Sony Classical, Deutsche Grammophon, Warner Classic, and harmonia mundi, among other labels.

The MKO is the recipient of multiple honours, including a prize for the best concert programming of the season from the Deutscher Musikverleger-Verband (German association of music publishers), the Cannes Classical Award, the Musikpreis der Landeshauptstadt München (music prize of the state capital Munich), and the Bayerischer Staatspreis für Musik (music prize of the state of Bavaria). The MKO is subsidised with public funds from the Free State of Bavaria, the City of Munich, and the District of Upper Bavaria. Since the 2006-07 season, its main official sponsor has been European Computer Telecoms AG (ECT).

www.m-k-o.eu