English Chamber Orchestra
Orchestra
Founded	1948
Concert hall	Cadogan Hall,Wigmore Hall
Music director	Stephanie Gonley
Website	www.englishchamberorchestra.co.uk

TheEnglish Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a Britishchamber orchestra based inLondon. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts atCadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs atWigmore Hall. With a limited performance size, the orchestra specializes in 18th-century music and was created to performBaroque Music.^[1] The orchestra regularly tours in the UK and internationally, and holds the distinction of having the most extensive discography of any chamber orchestra and 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.^[2][3][4]

The English Chamber Orchestra has its origins in theGoldsbrough Orchestra, founded in 1948 byLawrence Leonard and Arnold Goldsbrough. The name was considered to prevent success outside of the UK and in 1960 it was changed to the English Chamber Orchestra, when Quintin Ballardie (a principal violinist with the original orchestra) invited Dr. Ursula Jones-Strebi to found and co-manage the new orchestra,^[5][6] where they also expanded its repertoire beyond theBaroque 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 ofMozart's time.

Shortly afterwards, it became closely associated with theAldeburgh Festival, playing in the premieres ofBenjamin Britten'sA Midsummer Night's Dream (1960),Owen Wingrave (1970),Curlew River and several other of his works. The occasions on which Britten conducted the orchestra included the opening concerts of theQueen Elizabeth Hall andSnape Maltings in 1967.^[7] 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 includingRaymond Leppard,Colin Davis andDaniel Barenboim. In 1985Jeffrey Tate was appointed the ensemble's first principal conductor. In 2000,Ralf Gothóni was appointed second principal conductor.

In June 2009, the English Chamber Orchestra namedPaul Watkins its newmusic director, effective with the 2009–2010 season, for an initial contract of three years.^[8] The orchestra has also worked regularly with guest conductorsPaul Goodwin,Lawrence Power andJames Sherlock. In 2023, the orchestra appointedRoberto Forés Veses as Principal Guest Conductor. Having led the orchestra for over 30 years, Stephanie Gonley was recognised as Leader and Principal of the English Chamber Orchestra in 2023.

The orchestra has performed with and toured the UK and abroad with artists such asKathleen Battle,Benjamin Britten,Daniel Barenboim,Dame Janet Baker,Colin Davis,Placido Domingo,Jacqueline du Pre,Sumi Jo,Kiri te Kanawa,Yehudi Menuhin,Luciano Pavarotti,Murray Perahia,Itzhak Perlman,Andre Previn,Karl Richter,Mstislav Rostropovich,Georg Solti,Joan Sutherland,Mitsuko Uchida,Maxim Vengerov andPinchas Zukerman.Recent tours have included Bermuda, USA, Mexico, Finland, France, Turkey, Switzerland, Italy and Germany.

HRH the former Prince of Wales has been the Patron of the ECO since 1977 and the orchestra has performed at royal weddings, birthday celebrations and other events including the first concert ever to be broadcast from Buckingham Palace.

In 2023 members of the orchestra were selected to play at thecoronation of Charles III and Camilla.^[9]

• Beethoven, 9 Symphonies underMichael Tilson Thomas, Sony Classical (compilation, 2020)
• Haydn, Symphonies 22, 39, 47 (1968), 48 & 70 (1971), 26, 34, 77 (1972), underRaymond Leppard, Philips
• Haydn, Symphonies 94, 101 (1981), 94, 100 (1995), 101, 104 (1994), underJean-François Paillard, RCA
• Haydn, Symphonies 93, 96, 98 - 104, underJeffrey Tate, EMI (1986, 1992, 1997, 1999)
• Haydn, Symphonies 44, 45, 48, 49, underDaniel Barenboim, Deutsche Grammophon (1979, compilation, 2012)
• Mozart, Symphonies 25, 29, 38 & 40, underBenjamin Britten, Decca (1978) recipient ofGramophone Award
• Mozart, Symphonies 1 - 41, under Jeffrey Tate, EMI (1990)
• Mozart, Symphonies 39, 40, 41, under Jean-François Paillard, RCA (1994)
• Mozart, Symphonies 29, 30, 31, 34, 38 & 39, under Daniel Barenboim, EMI (2007)

• Albinoni,Franceschini,Rathgeber,Telemann,Vivaldi, Trumpet Concertos, with Hannes, Wolfgang & Bernhard Läubin underSimon Preston, Deutsche Grammophone (1992)
• Bach, Brandenburg Concertos 1 - 6, underBenjamin Britten, Decca (1969)
• Bach, The Brandenburg Concertos, under Johannes Somary, Vanguard (2008)
• Bach, Violin Concertos, withAnne-Sophie Mutter andSalvatore Accardo, EMI (1983)
• Bach, Violin Concertos, withItzhak Perlman andPinchas Zukerman underDaniel Barenboim, EMI (1986)
• Bach, Violin Concertos and Triple Concerto, withArthur Grumiaux underRaymond Leppard, Philips (1964)
• Beethoven, Violin Concerto, withFrank Peter Zimmermann under Jeffrey Tate, EMI (1988)
• Biber,Pachelbel, Telemann, Vivaldi, Baroque music for trumpets , withWynton Marsalis under Raymond Lappard, Sony (1988)
• Handel, Twelve Grand Concertos, underRaymond Leppard, Philips (1968)
• Haydn, Cello Concerto, withMstislav Rostropovich underBenjamin Britten, Decca (1964)
• Haydn,Boccherini, Cello Concertos, withJacqueline Du Pré under Daniel Barenboim, EMI (1967)
• Haydn, Cello Concertos, withYo-Yo Ma, Sony Classical (1986)
• Haydn,C. P. E. Bach,Boccherini, Cello Concertos withMatt Haimovitz underAndrew Davis, Deutsche Grammophon (1990)
• Haydn, Boccherini, Cello Concertos, withLluís Claret underGeorge Malcolm, Harmonica Mundi (1992)
• Mendelssohn,Bruch, Violin Concertos, withNigel Kennedy under Jeffrey Tate, EMI (1988)
• Mozart, Complete Piano Concertos, withMurray Perahia as pianist and conductor (Sony, compilation 2012). Recipient ofGramophone Award.
• Mozart, Complete Piano Concertos, withDaniel Barenboim as pianist and conductor (Warner Classics, compilation 2016)
• Mozart, Complete Piano Concertos, withMitsuko Uchida underJeffrey Tate, Philips (Decca, compilation 2006)
• Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 19 & 24, withMaurizio Pollini as pianist and conductor (1982)
• Mozart, Violin Concertos No. 3 & 5, withJoshua Bell underPeter Maag (1992)
• Mozart, Sinfonia Concertante, withIsaac Stern and Pinchas Zukerman under Daniel Barenboim, Columbia Masterworks (1972)
• Mozart,Myslivecek, Flute Concertos. Ana de la Vega.PENTATONE PTC 5186723 (2018)
• Mozart, Concertone For 2 Violins, Oboe & Violoncello, underSir Colin Davis, London Records (1961)
• Mozart, Flute Concertos, withKarlheinz Zöller underBernhard Klee, Deutsche Grammophon (1974)
• Mozart, Clarinet Concerto, withRichard Stoltzman underAlexander Schneider, RCA (1981)
• Mozart, Horn Concertos 1-4, withBarry Tuckwell as horn player and conductor, Decca (1984)
• Vivaldi, Four Seasons, withNigel Kennedy as violinist and conductor, EMI (1997)
• Vivaldi, Four Seasons, withPinchas Zukerman as violinist and conductor (1987, 1988, 1996)

• The Beautiful Voice (works by Gounod, Lehár, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Strauss) withRenée Fleming as soloist under Jeffrey Tate, Decca (1998)
• Bel Canto (works by Bellini, Puccini, Rossini and Verdi) withSumi Jo under Giuliano Carella, Erato (1997)
• Canteloube, Chants D'Auvergne, withKiri Te Kanawa under Jeffrey Tate, Decca (1983, 1984)
• Donizetti,L'Elisir D'Amore, withJoan Sutherland,Luciano Pavarotti,Dominic Cossa,Spiro Malas, Maria Casula underRichard Bonynge, London Records (1971)
• Gluck, Arias, with Janet Baker under Raymond Leppard, Philips (1975)
• Handel, Cantatas, withJanet Baker under Raymond Leppard, Philips (1973)
• Handel,Semele, withKathleen Battle,Marilyn Horne,Samuel Ramey,John Aler,Sylvia McNair,Michael Chance andAmbrosian Opera Chorus underJohn Nelson, Deutsche Grammophon (1993)
• Mozart, Handel, Arias, withLucia Popp under Georg Fischer, HMV (1967)
• Mozart, Arias, with Kiri Te Kanawa under Jeffrey Tate, Philips (1987, 1988)
• Mozart, Opera & Concert Arias, withBarbara Hendricks under Jeffrey Tate, EMI (1984)
• Mozart,Don Giovanni, withJoan Sutherland,Pilar Lorengar,Marilyn Horne,Gabriel Bacquier,Werner Krenn,Donald Gramm, andAmbrosian Opera Chorus underRichard Bonynge, London Records (1971)
• Mozart,Le Nozze Di Figaro, withDietrich Fischer-Dieskau and other soloists under Daniel Barenboim, EMI (1977)
• Rossini,Il Signor Bruschino, with Kathleen Battle, Samuel Ramey,Frank Lopardo,Claudio Desderi underIon Marin, Deutsche Grammophone (1993)

• English Chamber Orchestra homepage

• Musical groups established in 1948
• London orchestras
• Chamber orchestras
• 1948 establishments in England
• Benjamin Britten

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