The Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (LCO) () is a

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 numbe ...

based in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. It was established by

Saulius Sondeckis Saulius Sondeckis (11 October 1928 – 3 February 2016) was a Lithuanian violinist, conductor, orchestra leader and professor. He founded the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra in 1960 and was its artistic director and principal conductor until 2004. B ...

in 1960, giving its first performance on April 30, 1960. Along with the

Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra The Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra or LNSO (''Lietuvos nacionalinis simfoninis orkestras, LNSO'') is one of Lithuania's two national orchestras,Jonathan Bousfield ''Baltic States'' Rough Guides 2004 p97 "Classical music, opera and ballet; ...

, the Čiurlionis Quartet, early music ensemble Musica Humana and the

Vilnius String Quartet Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

, the LCO is a resident group of the National Philharmonic Hall.

About

The orchestra generally performs works of Lithuanian composers, and premiered works by

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке, link=no, Alfred Garriyevich Shnitke; 24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer of Jewish-German descent. Among the most performed and re ...

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in pa ...

and

Pēteris Vasks Pēteris Vasks (born 16 April 1946) is a Latvian composer. Biography Vasks was born in Aizpute, Latvia, into the family of a Baptist pastor. He trained as a violinist at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, as a double-bass player wi ...

. It is also said to have a "special affinity for the works of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

and

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 (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

." Until 2004, the LCO was part of the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society, but in that year, it gained independent status. Saulius Sondeckis served as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor from its inception in 1960 until 2004 and violinist Sergei Krylov was appointed in 2008.

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

has conducted its choral-orchestral works. The LCO was the first Lithuanian orchestra to make its debut in the West at the

Echternach Festival Echternach ( lb, Iechternach or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in ...

in Luxembourg in 1976. The orchestra has toured most European countries, the USA, Japan, Argentina, Cuba, Canada, Egypt, and South Africa. It has performed at prestigious venues such as the

Musikverein The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Great ...

in Vienna,

Royal Festival The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I li ...

in London,

Santa Cecilia Santa Cecilia is a municipality and town located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research ...

in Rome,

Auditorium di Giuseppe Verdi An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

in Milan,

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

in Amsterdam and many other famous concert halls and festivals in Europe. Joachim W. Hartnack in his book, ''Grosser Geiger unserer Zeit'', has ranked the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra as among "the three most masterly orchestras of the world". In 1976 the orchestra won the gold medal at the

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

Contest of Youth Orchestras in Berlin.

References

External links

*
Alternative website
{{Authority control Lithuanian orchestras Chamber orchestras Musical groups established in 1960 1960 establishments in Lithuania Music in Vilnius