Swedish Chamber Orchestra

The Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Örebro ( _sv. Svenska Kammarorkestern, Örebro)

"One can´t really categorise the orchestra as a “chamber orchestra“ when it is presented by these Swedish musicians under the fiery direction of Thomas Dausgaard at their guest appearance in the Konzerthaus. Alone the programme they presented, culminating in Dvorak´s Sixth Symphony, speaks a large symphonic language and in a very impressive manner as was clear from the opening work — Beethoven´s Egmont Overture." -- Klaus Geitel, Berliner Morgenpost, March 2007

At just 12 years old and with only 38 players, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Örebro is fast establishing itself as one of the most interesting ensembles today. Together with Danish conductor, Thomas Dausgaard - who has been the orchestra´s Music Director since 1997 -the tightly knit ensemble is recording the complete Beethoven Orchestral works for Simax and recently embarked on a new project with BIS which now includes all the symphonies of Schumann as well as will include orchestral works by Dvorak, Schubert and Bruckner. The first of these BIS recordings appeared in January 2007.

In 2004 the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Thomas Dausgaard made their USA and UK debuts with performances at the London Proms and Lincoln Center, Mostly Mozart Festival. The New York Times wrote: "“It has been a longstanding complaint in the classical music world that as recordings and jet travel have shrunk the globe, an international sound has been fostered that has filtered out regional differences in timbre and interpretation ... And every now and then an orchestra comes along with a sound that is surprising and fresh. The Swedish Chamber Orchestra, led by its music director, Thomas Dausgaard, produced a distinctive and consistently vibrant sound ... Mr Dausgaard made the Beethoven into a high-energy dazzler, driven by sizzlingly brisk string playing, with biting brass figures giving the music a stormy edge and making the neglected Fourth Symphony seem nearly as titanic as the Third and the Fifth."

The Swedish Chamber Orchestra is working hard on the “surprising" and “fresh" sound accredited to them and is constantly looking at expanding its repertoire and opening new doors to further challenges. Alongside their work with Thomas Dausgaard, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra regularly performs with early music specialist, Andrew Manze and conductor / composer H K Gruber. With this range of repertoire and styles the ensemble has established its own unique voice; as The Daily Telegraph commented "“Imagine the London Sinfonietta crossed with say the Orchestra of the Age of Englightenment and you might come up with something near the flexibility offered by the Swedish Chamber Orchestra."

With a commitment to contemporary music the orchestra regularly commissions and performs new works, both at home and abroad. The orchestra´s most recent commission is a new violin concerto by Magnus Lindberg which was given its European premiere by the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and soloist Lisa Batisivili in October 2006. Reviewing the concert the Times wrote:" “Poised between appearances at the Mainly Mozart Festivals in New York and the Barbican (July 2007), Magnus Lindberg´s new Violin Concerto has just received standing ovations at its European premiere in the quiet Swedish town of Örebro. Why Örebro? Because that is the home of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra which co-commissioned the work, and played it, under the baton of their chief conductor Thomas Dausgaard, with the sharp-eyed intensity that has become their hallmark.“"

Further world premiere performances include works by Swedish composers Daniel Börz, Karin Rehnqvist, Sven David Sandström and Christian Lindberg along with Scandinavian premieres by Joe Cutler and Steven Mackey.

In March 2007 the Swedish Chamber Orchestra undertook a major tour of Europe which included performances at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Zurich Tonhalle, Dresden Frauenkirche, Berlin Konzerthaus and Munich HerkulesSaal. In July 2007 the ensemble returned to London to perform at the Barbican´s Mostly Mozart Festival where they gave the UK premiere of Magnus Lindberg´s violin concerto together with Lisa Batiashvili.

Tour highlights in 2008 include a return visit to the States with concerts at New York´s Lincoln Center, Washington, Cleveland and the West Coast as well as an Autumn tour to Germany and Austria, with a debut-performance in Vienna. Meanwhile an array of international guest artists can be heard at home in Örebro with the ensemble: in recent years, guests include Nicolai Znaider, Renaud Capuçon, Håkan Hardenberger, Christian Lindberg, Jonathan Biss, Roy Goodman, Melyvn Tan and Paul McCreesh. In 2009, violinist Nikolaj Znaider assumes at three-year contract in the role of Principal Guest Conductor with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra.

The Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Örebro is funded by the City of Örebro and the Municial agency of Örebro county, with support from the Swedish Department of Culture. The orchestra's homebase is Örebro Concert Hall, located in the city centre of Örebro, which is approximately two hours west of the capital of Sweden, Stockholm.

External links

* [http://www.svenskakammarorkestern.se/ Swedish Chamber Orchestra]
* [http://www.orebrokonserthus.se/ Örebro Konserthus]