Captivating audiences worldwide with its dynamic programmes, which combine well-known works with new music, the Münchener Kammerorchester (MKO) is famous for its distinct sound as well as for its outstanding level of interpretation. The core ensemble consists of 28 permanent string players from 14 different countries. Flexible in size, the MKO regularly expands its line-up with exceptional guest musicians from elite European orchestras to set interpretative standards in Classical and Romantic repertoire as well as in 21st-century compositions. Openness, curiosity and a passion for unusual formats further characterize the unique profile of the MKO.
In the 2022/23 season the MKO departed from its previous organizational structure with a chief conductor and redefined itself: over a period of several years, it works with the three Associated Conductors Jörg Widmann, Enrico Onofri and Bas Wiegers, who ideally embody the MKO’s extensive artistic spectrum and the unbridled will to probe new dimensions in music from the Baroque era to the present day. Performances under the direction of concertmasters Yuki Kasai and Daniel Giglberger are also an important part of the orchestra’s activities. The MKO regularly collaborates with musicians such as Isabelle Faust, Nicolas Altstaedt, Ilya Gringolts, Vilde Frang, Christian Tetzlaff and Alexander Lonquich.
The MKO places great significance to the dramaturgical conception of its programmes and to the long-term cultivation and further development of the chamber orchestra repertoire. It has commissioned and premiered numerous works: Iannis Xenakis, Wolfgang Rihm, Tan Dun, Georg Friedrich Haas, Pascal Dusapin, Salvatore Sciarrino, Jörg Widmann and other great composers of our time have composed music for the ensemble. ECM Records has released recordings of the MKO performing works by Sofia Gubaidulina, Giacinto Scelsi, Valentin Silvestrov, Toshio Hosokawa, Tigran Mansurian and Thomas Larcher amongst others, as well as a complete recording of Beethoven’s piano concertos with the pianist Alexander Lonquich in autumn 2024. A new collaboration with Enrico Onofri and harmonia mundi kicks off with a recording of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Serenades in early 2025. Numerous other CDs have been released by Sony Classical, Deutsche Grammophon, Warner Classics and NEOS.
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PRESS
‘Striking effects, fabulous precision […] Hell, that’s good’
Süddeutsche Zeitung
‘A musical firework display is ignited, brilliant and transparent in its colouring, forward-pushing in its pulse, rich in contrast in its dynamics. [The MKO] unleashes a force that resembles a veritable big bang’
Abendzeitung München
SELECTION OF PROJECTS (2026/27)
Beginning of February 2026 and upon request
with Xavier de Maistre, harp
G. F. Händel: Concerto No. 1 for harp and orchestra
G. F. Händel: Concerto No. 2 for harp and orchestra
F.-A. Boieldieu: Concerto for harp and orchestra
***
+ Orchestral pieces
Encore: G. F. Händel: Concerto No. 2 for harp and orchestra, 1 movement
Xavier de Maistre © Nikolaj Lund
March 2026 and upon request
with Veronika Eberle, violin // Enrico Onofri, conductor
J. Cage: 4‘33“
J. Haydn: ‘The Imagination of Chaos‘ from “The Creation” (6’)
T. Hosokawa: Violin concerto ‘Genesis’ (18′)L. v. Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 (26′)
***
L. v. Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 (26′)
Veronika Eberle © Stefan Grau
June 2026 and upon request with Johannes Berger, organ // Tölzer Knabenchor // Jörg Widmann, conductor
J. Widmann: Friedenskantate (35‘)
***
F. Mendelssohn: String Symphony No. 10 in B minor (11′)
F. Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 ‘Reformation’ (30′)
