Interlude: Chamber Orchestra of Europe Podcast

In this episode, Simon Mundy converses with great soloists the COE has worked with: Isabelle Faust, interviewed in Kronberg's town hall, recalls her concerts with the COE and Bernard Haitink; Maria Joao Pires, interviewed from her Center for the Arts in Belgais, looks back at all our wonderful projects together over the years; Antoine Tamestit, interviewed at the Kronberg Academy's Casals Forum, talks about performing Britten's Lachrymae and his own arrangements of Dowland songs with the COE at the opening concert of the Casals Forum in September 2022.

In this episode, Simon Mundy talks with Julian Poore who has been the COE's second trumpet since its creation in 1981. Aside from telling us all about the many different types of trumpets and the challenges of bringing them on tour, he also tells us a story about Claudio Abbado's shirt... featuring COE co-principal cello, tenor Will Conway!

Julian Rachlin explains what it means to him that the Chamber Orchestra of Europe is the resident orchestra at Schloss Esterhazy, how he feels about the COE and what he would like to do with them next.

In this episode, Simon Mundy is in conversation with Sir András Schiff, a long-standing artistic partner and Honorary Member of the COE. Together, they recall how the relationship with the Orchestra started, back in the eighties, and how it developed over the years. Sir András remembers with great fondness his friendship with Sandor Vegh who also taught to a number of COE members at the time. In this episode, there are various musical excerpts, particularly from our concert at the Schloss Esterhazy, home of Haydn, in Eisenstadt in September 2022.

In this episode, Caroline shares her memories of the past 5 years at the COE, what particular challenges she encountered, which programmes she fondly remembers, which soloists wowed her...

François Leleux recalls his COE story with much enthusiasm: how he got to know the Orchestra, when became a member, what his influence on the COE was and how the COE influenced him, particularly as he has now become a renowned conductor as well as a world-class oboist.

In this episode, Simon Mundy interviews British conductor Sir Roger Norrington about his COE adventure. Now retired, Sir Roger looks back at some of his most cherished memories with the COE: concerts at Die Glocke in Bremen, performances of the Creation and the Seasons... He also talks about period performances on modern instruments, revising the orchestra seating and the importance of connecting with the audience during concerts.

In the 5th episode of our series celebrating 40 years of COE, Simon Mundy asks world-class artists who regularly work with the COE - conductors Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Honorary Member of the COE), Robin Ticciati, Sir Antonio Pappano and violinist Janine Jansen - about their own experience with the COE.

In this episode, Simon Mundy interviews the COE's former principal oboe, now conductor, Dougie Boyd, who was the instigator of the Sibelius Symphony Cycle with Paavo Berglund at the Helsinki Festival in 1998. Dougie shares the story of how it all started, looks back at the special relationship between the Orchestra and Paavo and goes through the Symphonies themselves and the progression from No.1 to No.7. The DVD/Blu-Ray set was released for the 10th anniversary of Paavo Berglund's death, in memory of the incredible friendship that existed between him and all of the COE musicians. "Paavo was universally loved" (Dougie Boyd).

Simon Mundy talks to Clara Andrada, Lorenza Borrani, Will Conway, Richard Hosford, Richard Lester, Jaime Martin and Elizabeth Wexler about their life-changing learning experience within the COE and who has had the most influence on their music-making, whether it be conductors and soloists with whom the Orchestra worked over the years or their COE colleagues themselves.

In this episode, Simon Mundy interviews a COE player who performed in all of the pieces featured in our second COE/Harnoncourt box-set, released by ICA Classics on 22/10/2021. The box-set covers an extensive period of time, from 1989 to 2007.

Simon Mundy talks to Enno Senft and his wife Elizabeth Wexler, Richard Hosford, Richard Lester and Clara Andrada de la Calle about the 'European-ness' of the COE and what it entails: a truly European identity but also a lack of roots, making it difficult for the COE to embed itself in a community.

Simon Mundy interviews a number of current and past members of the COE - including oboist Francois Leleux and conductors Dougie Boyd (and his wife Sally Pendlebury), Jaime Martin and Thierry Fischer - about family life and their relationships within the Orchestra, the incredible commitment and dedication of every single player in rehearsals and concerts and also how the sound of the Orchestra has developed over the years.

In the next three episodes of the COE's podcast, we celebrate the Orchestra's 40th anniversary since its launch concert in 1981. In this episode, we look back at the very beginnings of the COE, how the idea came about, the amazing energy and passion from all those who helped found the ensemble and the incredible challenges that they had to navigate. We hear from many of the founder members as well as James Judd, Peter and Victoria Readman, without whom the COE would not be here today.

In this episode, Simon Mundy finds about the meeting of two souls, what differentiates the oboe, the cor anglais and the oboe d'amore and what happened to the COE winds in Peru.

In this episode, conductor Jaime Martin - former principal flute of the COE - talks to Simon Mundy about his COE experience: the thrill of being invited to play with the Orchestra for the first time, the conductors and soloists who have taught him the most, how he handed over to Clara Andrada (see episode 5) and why he decided to swap his flute for a baton.

In this interview with husband and wife, Nick Eastop and Ulrika Jansson, Simon Mundy explores one of the COE's "romantic successes" and quizzes them on many topics including their instruments and which musicians have inspired them most over their COE years.

In our first episode of the year, Simon Mundy is in conversation with the COE's Principal Flute, Clara Andrada de la Calle, who comes from Salamanca in Spain and is also Principal Flute of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Taught by Emmanuel Pahud and Jaime Martin (former COE Principal Flute himself), she heard the COE live for the first in 2002, in a concert with Claudio Abbado in Paris. Clara tells her COE story...

In this episode - the second of a two-part documentary about the making of our Schubert Symphonies with Nikolaus Harnoncourt in the hot summer of 1988, in Graz, Austria - Simon Mundy talks to Enno Senft, Elizabeth Wexler, Thierry Fischer and Christian Eisenberger about the unique experience of working with Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

In the context of the recent release of our recording of the Schubert Symphonies, this is the first of a two-part documentary where Simon Mundy talks with COE players about their unique experience of working on and performing these Symphonies with Nikolaus Harnoncourt in Graz, in that extremely hot summer of 1988.

Interview with COE Leader Lorenza Borrani about her role at the COE, her experience with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and her violin.