Australian Chamber Orchestra

The outstanding Australian musician Richard Tognetti was appointed as Artistic Director and Lead Violin in 1990. Under his inspiring leadership, the ACO has performed as a flexible and versatile ‘ensemble of soloists’, on modern and period instruments, as a small chamber group, a small symphony orchestra, and as an electro-acoustic collective. In a nod to past traditions, only the cellists are seated – the resulting sense of energy and individuality is one of the most commented-upon elements of an ACO concert experience.

Regular international tours to Asia, Europe and the USA have drawn outstanding reviews for the ACO’s performances at many of the world’s prestigious concert halls, including Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Vienna’s Musikverein, the Sydney Opera House, Birmingham’s Symphony Hall and Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center. Recent festival appearances include the BBC Proms, Tanglewood, Ravinia, Interlochen and New York’s Mostly Mozart. The Australian Government recognises the ACO’s achievements by designating it as an international flagship arts company.

The ACO’s dedication and musicianship has created warm relationships with such celebrated soloists as Steven Isserlis, Christian Lindberg, John Williams, Dawn Upshaw, Imogen Cooper, Angela Hewitt, Ivry Gitlis and Pieter Wispelwey. In 2006 guest artists include Joseph and James Tawadros, Anthony Marwood, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Sara Macliver, Thomas Demenga and Polina Leschenko.

Numerous recordings are available on Channel Classics, Sony and ABC Classics featuring repertoire ranging from Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert to Shostakovich and Australia’s Peter Sculthorpe. In 2002 Chandos released string quartets by Szymanowski, Janácek and Haas, arranged for string orchestra by Richard Tognetti; and in 2003, a CD of string music by Sculthorpe. Both were chosen by BBC Music Magazine as Pick of the Month. 2003 also saw Orfeo’s release of cello masterworks with Daniel Müller-Schott and the ACO, directed by Richard Tognetti.

Two recent CD releases are Song of the Angel (Chandos), with classical accordionist James Crabb playing music by Piazzolla, and Musical Renegades (ABC Classics). The latter is a double-CD set containing exciting live performances of music featured in the documentary Musical Renegades, which is also available on DVD. In mid-2004, Classical Trombone Concertos with Christian Lindberg appeared on the BIS label to outstanding reviews. Most recently, Hyperion has released two CDs of keyboard concertos by Bach, with soloist Angela Hewitt, and the ACO directed by Richard Tognetti; the exceptional critical acclaim included ‘CD of the Month’ for Gramophone magazine. A CD of Vivaldi flute concerti with Emmanuel Pahud was recently released by EMI.