The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at

Cadogan Hall Cadogan Hall is a 950-seat capacity concert hall in Sloane Terrace in Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. The resident music ensemble at Cadogan Hall is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), the first L ...

, and their ensemble performs at

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

. The orchestra regularly tours in the UK and internationally, and holds the distinction of not only having the most extensive discography of any chamber orchestra, but also of being the most well-traveled orchestra in the world; no other orchestra has played concerts (as of 2013, according to its own publicity) in as many countries as the English Chamber Orchestra. The English Chamber Orchestra has its roots in the Goldsbrough Orchestra, founded in 1948 by Lawrence Leonard and Arnold Goldsbrough. The group took its current name in 1960, when it expanded its repertoire beyond the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

period for the first time. Its repertoire remained limited by the group's size, which has stayed fairly consistently at around the size of an orchestra of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's time. Shortly afterwards, it became closely associated with the

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festival Th ...

, playing in the premieres of

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict a ...

'' (1960), ''

Owen Wingrave ''Owen Wingrave'', Op. 85, is an opera in two acts with music by Benjamin Britten and libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after a short story by Henry James. It was originally written for televised performance. Britten had been aware of the story sin ...

'' (1970), ''

Curlew River ''Curlew River – A Parable for Church Performance'' (Op. 71) is an English music drama, with music by Benjamin Britten to a libretto by William Plomer. The first of Britten's three 'Parables for Church Performance', the work is based on the J ...

'' and several other of his works. The occasions on which Britten conducted the orchestra included the opening concerts of the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The Q ...

and Snape Maltings in 1967. He also made a number of records with the group. The orchestra did not at this time have a principal conductor, but worked closely with a succession of guest conductors including Raymond Leppard,

Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...

and

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

. In 1985 Jeffrey Tate was appointed the ensemble's first principal conductor. In 2000,

Ralf Gothóni Ralf Georg Nils Gothóni (born 2 May 1946, Rauma) is a Finnish-German pianist and conductor. He is also active as a chamber musician, professor, composer, and author. Born in Rauma, Finland he made his orchestra debut at age 15. Besides his worl ...

was appointed second principal conductor. In June 2009, the English Chamber Orchestra named Paul Watkins its new

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

, effective with the 2009–2010 season, for an initial contract of three years.Martin Cullingford, "Paul Watkins named ECO music director". ''Gramophone'', 19 June 2009.

Recordings

Murray Perahia Murray David Perahia () (born April 19, 1947) is an American pianist and conductor. He is widely considered one of the greatest living pianists. He was the first North American pianist to win the Leeds International Piano Competition, in 1972. Kn ...

's first major recording project was Mozart's 27

piano concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpie ...

s, conducted from the keyboard with the English Chamber Orchestra. *

and Myslivecek Flute Concertos. Ana de la Vega. PENTATONE PTC 5186723 (2018).

References

External links

English Chamber Orchestra homepage
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1948 London orchestras Chamber orchestras 1948 establishments in England