The Swedish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) was founded in 1995. Thomas Daus gaard was chief conductor from 1997 until 2019, a collaboration which placed the SCO on the international arena. Since August 2019 the orchestra’s chief conductor has been Martin Fröst, with whom it continues its touring and recording activities.
The tightly-knit ensemble of 39 regular members is internationally established as a unique voice with a wide range of repertoire and styles. The orchestra made its UK and USA débuts in 2004, performing at the BBC Proms and the Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival. Since then, the SCO has toured regularly through out Europe, made its début in Japan, and has been invited to festivals including Bergen, Schleswig Holstein, Rheingau and Salzburg. Highlights include perfor mances of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in 2017 at New York’s Lincoln Center and The Brandenburg Project at the BBC Proms in 2018.
For BIS, the orchestra has recorded complete Schumann, Brahms and Schubert symphony cycles with Dausgaard, as well as acclaimed discs of contemporary works in collaboration with conductor/composers HK Gruber and Brett Dean.
Through its high level of commitment, the orchestra has additionally built up an impressive list of visiting artists, including Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Håkan Harden berger, Lisa Batiashvili, Leif Ove Andsnes, Michael Collins, Isabelle Faust, Andrew Manze, Richard Tognetti, Nina Stemme, Pekka Kuusisto, Jörg Widmann, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Thomas Zehetmair, Tabea Zimmermann and François Leleux.
