• about Concerto Köln

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Founded in 1985, the ensemble Concerto Köln has, within a fascinatingly short period of time, established for itself a solid place amongst the highest-ranking orchestras for historical performance practice.

The musicians bridge the gap between heart and mind with "impetously youthful and well researched" interpretations, pleasing audiences and critics alike.

The last few years have led the ensemble to Aix-en-Provence, the Lincoln Center in New York, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, to the opera houses of Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Amsterdam, New York, the most renowned concert halls including the Berlin Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Musikvereinsaal as well as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

During extensive tours throughout the USA, South East Asia, Canada, Latin America, Japan, Israel and most countries in Europe, Concerto Köln has spread its musical message and the name of its hometown throughout the world.

Concerto Köln is an exclusive artist of the Deutsche Grammophon, has numerous recordings with Harmonia Mundi, Teldec and Capriccio and is able to boast a discography of almost 50 CDs, many of which have been awarded by Echo, Grammy, The German Record Critics Award, or the French Diapason d'Or.

The musicians of the ensemble have been described as "musical truffle pigs" and it is true that the orchestra is, with striking constancy, able to discover composers whose beautiful music has remained hidden in the shadows of the great names and forgotten by history, Concerto Köln purposely avoids a crowd-pulling star, an omnipotent  conductor who determines all musical happenings. Rather, the  orchestra chooses literature, which does not require a bandleader. When working through both new and unknown pieces, every musician is involved by bringing his or her own ideas. Extremely intensive rehearsals and discussions follow, resulting in overall collaborative interpretation resulting in a thoroughly convincing performance on stage.

In April of 2005, Martin Sandhoff was chosen as Artistic Director of Concerto Köln. The Concert Master position of Concerto Köln is fulfilled not only by Anton Steck and Stefano Montanari, both of whom officially hold the position as Concert Master, but by members  of Concerto Köln and visiting artists as well.

The year of 2005 brought with it a considerable change: Concerto Köln moved into its own rehearsal space and has thus become the first European baroque orchestra to boast its own rehearsal hall. The ensemble is therefore able to rehearse more intensively and organize its rehearsal schedule without any external restrictions. Even other ensembles are able to enjoy the use of the rehearsal space, which has also hosted school concerts, seminars and workshops. As such, the home of Concerto Köln is developing into a centre of baroque music in Cologne.