Concerto Köln

  • Chamber Orchestra

Germany and different countries

Concerto_Köln_2023_1_©_Sonja Werner

Passionate music-making and an unwavering curiosity for the unknown are the hallmarks of Concerto Köln.
For almost 40 years, the orchestra with its unmistakable sound has been among the leading ensembles in the field of historically informed performance. Firmly rooted in Cologne’s musical life and regularly appearing in the world’s music capitals and at prestigious festivals, Concerto Köln stands for outstanding interpretations of early music.

Concerto Köln manages to interpret even familiar repertoire in a way that is “so fresh and striking it feels like hearing it for the first time” (Die ZEIT).
Their interpretations are developed through a collaborative process based on meticulous source research. Baroque and early Classical works are usually prepared under the direction of one of the concertmasters—Evgeny Sviridov, Mayumi Hirasaki, Justyna Skatulnik, or Anna Dmitrieva. At the heart of their work is always an approach that seeks to recreate the original sound world of the time the works were composed. This passion for historical sound unites the ensemble in its long-standing and fruitful collaborations with Honorary Conductor Kent Nagano and violinist Shunske Sato.

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The scholarly-artistic large-scale project The Wagner Cycles, under Kent Nagano, will continue into the 2025/26 season. Together with the Dresden Festival Orchestra, Concerto Köln’s performances of Wagner’s Siegfried in 2025 took the ensemble to Prague, Paris, Cologne, Dresden, and Lucerne. Götterdämmerung will follow in 2026 with performances in Dresden, Bayreuth, Hamburg, and Lucerne.

In addition, the ensemble will bring Handel’s opera Flavio, Re de’ Longobardi to the stage in Cologne and Amsterdam under the direction of Benjamin Bayl, featuring soloists including Julia Lezhneva and Max Emanuel Cencic.

The ensemble will also pay tribute to the great master Bach with performances of the St. John Passion in collaboration with the NDR Vokalensemble conducted by Klaas Stok at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and at Kiel Castle, as well as the Mass in B minor with Chorwerk Ruhr under Florian Helgath in Brixen and Schwäbisch Gmünd.

Further highlights of the season include concerts at the International Chopin and His Europe Festival in Warsaw—focusing on Janiewicz and Mozart—at the Leipzig Bach Festival with Max Volbers, Marie Sophie Pollak, and Clara Blessing, and at the Handel Festival in Halle with Valer Sabadus.

In 2025, Concerto Köln celebrates its 40th anniversary. A perfect occasion to launch its own concert series titled We Celebrate, which each year is dedicated to a special anniversary composer. The series began with a tribute to Alessandro Scarlatti, and in 2026 it will continue with the program The Dead Poets Society – dedicated to Queen Christina of Sweden’s Accademia dell’Arcadia.

Since 2008, the ensemble has had a close partnership with the label Berlin Classics but remains active with other labels as well. Its discography now includes more than 75 recordings, many of them award-winning—such as the Grammy Award-winning recording of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro under René Jacobs.

The work of Concerto Köln is made possible through the generous support of dedicated sponsors, including the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the NRW Arts Foundation, the Goethe-Institut, and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. Since 2009, the ensemble has also enjoyed a close partnership with MBL Unique High End Audio, which enables it to explore questions of sound aesthetics and playback quality in depth.

https://www.concerto-koeln.de/1733.html

Season 2025/2026

For any changes please ask Weigold & Böhm.

Contacts

Photos

  • Concerto_Köln_2023_1_©_Sonja Werner
  • Concerto_Köln_2023_2_©_Sonja Werner
  • Concerto Köln ©WarsawPhilharmonic
  • Concerto Köln Konzertmeister ©Harald Hoffmann

News

Concerto_Köln_2023_2_©_Sonja Werner

Standing Ovations for Concerto Köln and Jeanine De Bique at the Philharmonie Essen

Concerto_Köln_2023_1_©_Sonja Werner

Shining love, laughing death

The legendary original sound ensemble Concerto Köln

Most Celebrated

(c) Weigold & Böhm

Valkyrie in the reconstructed original sound - a milestone

Concerto_Köln_2023_2_©_Sonja Werner

They know how to make this music sparkle

Julia Lezhneva - Concerto Köln - Zürich 27. Mai 2024 © Quim Vilar

A great moment with Julia Lezhneva and Concerto Köln in the Tonhalle Zurich

Concerto_Köln_2023_1_©_Sonja Werner

Unequal rivals: Bach versus Johann Adolph Scheibe

Concerto_Köln_2023_2_©_Sonja Werner

Concerto Köln in BASF Feierabendhaus

Concerto Köln publishes album „Mozart 1791“

Bayreuth Baroque 2023 - Julia Lezhneva und Max Cencic © Clemens Manser

Live broadcast of Handel's "Flavio, Re de' Langobardi" with Julia Lezhneva and Concerto Köln in Bayreuth on 17.09.23

Pisendel © Berlin Classics

Opus Klassik 2023 for Concerto Köln!

Pisendel © Berlin Classics

NDR CD of the Week: Pisendel Album by Concerto Köln

„Weigold & Böhm“ - artists in German Top 20 Classical Charts

Pisendel © Berlin Classics

„Pisendel“ - the new album of Concerto Köln

„Masters of the Baroque“ - Giuliano Carmignola and Concerto Köln in Koblenz

Concerto Köln 3 ©Harald Hoffmann

„Devotion to Music“ - Concerto Köln and Jeanine De Bique in Bayreuth

Concerto Köln 1 ©Harald Hoffmann

Touching concert by Concerto Köln at the Mosel Musikfestival

Concerto Köln ©WarsawPhilharmonic

Julia Lezhneva and Concerto Köln provide „one of the most beautiful evenings in the life of a music enthusiast“ at the Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele

Concerto Köln 3 ©Harald Hoffmann

„Rousing Passion“ by Concerto Köln and Midori Seiler in Maulbronn

Concerts

  • Concerto Köln

    Warschau, 8:30 pm

    Details
    Tickets

    Program:

    Mozart: Divertimento D-Dur KV 136 1. Salzburger Sinfonie Janiewicz: Konzert für Violine und Orchester Nr. 3 A-Dur Mozart: Adagio und Fuge für Streichquartett c-Moll KV 546 Pause: PAUSE Janiewicz: Konzert für Violine und Orchester in der Fassung für Klavier Nr. 3 A-Dur Mozart: Sinfonie Nr. 29 A-Dur KV 201

    Location:

    Warschauer National-Philharmonie

    Organizer:

    https://festiwal.nifc.pl/en

    •

      Concerto Köln

Projects

  • The Wagner Cycles – Dresdner Festspielorchester & Concerto Köln – Kent Nagano (Leitung) - Solisten tbc

    Ein Projekt der Dresdner Musikfestspiele

    Details

    Program:

    Wagner - Siegfried

    Contact:

  • Concerto Köln - Rheinische Kantorei - Edzard Burchards (Leitung)

    Händel & Scarlatti - zum 300. Gedenkjahr von Alessandro Scarlatti

    Details

    Program:

    Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 – 1759) - Dixit Dominus HWV 232 g-Moll
    ~
    Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 – 1725) - Messa di Santa Cecilia

    Contact:

  • Further dates upon request

    Concerto Köln (17 Musiker)

    Bach und Italien

    Details

    Program:

    Dall’Abaco - Concerto à più Istrumenti op. 5,6 D-Dur
    Locatelli - Concerto grosso op. 1 Nr. 12 g-Moll
    J. S. Bach - Sinfonia e-Moll zu „Christ lag in Todesbanden“ BWV 4
    J. S. Bach - Konzert a-Moll für Violine, Streicher und basso continuo BWV 1041
    Sammartini - Sinfonie A-Dur
    Vivaldi - Concerto für Streicher und basso continuo c-Moll RV 120
    J. S. Bach - Sinfonia C-Dur zu „Der Herr denket an uns“ BWV 196
    J. S. Bach - Brandenburgisches Konzert Nr. 3 G-Dur BWV 1048

    Contact:

  • Further dates upon request

    Concerto Köln (16 - 18 Musiker)

    # We celebrate 2025: Das Scarlatti Vermächtnis - zum 300. Gedenkjahr von Alessandro Scarlatti

    Details

    Program:

    Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725) prägte die Musikgeschichte Italiens und Europas maßgeblich und gilt als einer der bedeutendsten Komponisten seiner Zeit. Dieses Programm webt ein musikalisches Beziehungsgeflecht zwischen dem Jubilar Alessandro Scarlatti und seinen Nachfolgern Avison, Geminiani und Händel und macht hörbar, welche Einflüsse Scarlattis sich in der Concerto-grosso-Tradition wiederfinden lassen. Auch die geheimnisvolle Komponistin Mrs. Philarmonica, die in London anonym veröffentlichte, fügt sich in dieses faszinierende Netzwerk ein.

    Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) - Concerto grosso Nr 6 a Moll für Flöte, Streicher und b.c. aus den 12 Sinfonie di concerto grosso
    Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759) - Concerto grosso in F-Dur op. 6 Nr 2
    Johann Adolf Hasse (1699 – 1783) - Sinfonia g-Moll op. 5 Nr. 6
    Mrs Philharmonica (* unsicher: 17. Jahrhundert; † unsicher: 18. Jahrhundert) - Sonata Sesta G-Dur arr. als Concerto Grosso
    Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) - Minuet, aus Sonata a quattro Nr. 4 d-Moll aus Sonate à Quattro per due Violini, Violetta, e Violoncello
    Dieses Minuet wird zitiert im letzten Satz von:
    Charles Avison (1709-1770) - Concerto Nr. 5 aus 12 concerti grossi d-Moll nach Domenico Scarlatti
    PAUSE
    Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) - Concerto grosso Nr 8 G-Dur für Flöte, Streicher und b.c. aus den 12 Sinfonie di concerto grosso
    Mrs Philharmonica (* unsicher: 17. Jahrhundert; † unsicher: 18. Jahrhundert) - Sonata Terza G-Moll arr. als Concerto Grosso
    Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757, Sohn von Alessandro) - Presto aus Cembalosonate K 29
    wird verarbeitet in:
    Charles Avison (1709-1770) - Concerto grosso Nr. 6 D-Dur
    Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762) - Concerto XII Follia d-Moll aus den Concerti grossi nach Corellis op. 5

    84 Minuten reine Spielzeit

    Optional mit Konzerteinführung vorab, in der die Bezüge zwischen den Werken erläutert werden.

    Contact:

  • Further dates upon request

    Concerto Köln (19 Musiker)

    Fest & flockig

    Details

    Program:

    Zur Weihnachtszeit spielen wir pastorale und festliche Musik aus Italien, Deutschland, England und Frankreich. Vom berühmten Weihnachtskonzert von Corelli über ein weihnachtliches Concerto grosso von Alessandro Scarlatti, dessen Gedenkjahr 2025 gefeiert wird, bis hin zu Mrs Philharmonica, einer geheimnisvollen Komponistin im London des 18. Jahrhunderts – alles lädt
    ein zu einem stimmungsvollen Weihnachtsfest.

    Programm:
    Georg Muffat - Sonata III A-Dur, Aus „Armonico Tributo" (8')
    Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti - Concerto grosso a-Moll für 2 Blockflöten und Streicher (7') - # We celebrate 2025: A. Scarlatti
    Marc-Antoine Charpentier - Aus „Noels pour les instruments, H534“: Les bourgeois de Chatres, Joseph est bien marié, Or nous dites Marie, Où s’en vont ces gais bergers? (7’)
    Georg Friedrich Händel - Nr. 13 Pifa, Aus „Der Messias“ (3’)
    Antonio Lucio Vivaldi - Der Winter, Aus „Die vier Jahreszeiten“ (11')
    Pause
    Mrs Philharmonica - Concerto Grosso nach Sonata Senta G-Dur (8')
    Giovanni Mossi - Violinkonzert D Moll (9’)
    Johann Christoph Pez - Pastorale, Aria/ Presto, Passacaglia, Aus „Concerto Pastorale“ F-Dur (10')
    Arcangelo Corelli - Concerto grosso g-Moll „Fatto per la notte die Natale“ (14')

    Contact:

All projects

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Downloads

Concerto Köln Biography 2025/2026