Artist Recital Series Presents the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Oct. 5 by Marci Janas '91
	RELATED Back to the main story		The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Praised by the Chicago Tribune - "It's difficult to imagine a more sublime performance" - and recognized internationally as one of the world's great orchestras, the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble performs without a conductor. This year marks its 30th season of concert activity spanning three continents, including appearances in the major cities of North America, Europe, and Asia. The centerpiece of each Orpheus season is its five-concert series at Carnegie Hall, the orchestra's official New York home. Accompanying the critical acclaim for Orpheus's live appearances are numerous distinctions and awards, including a 2001 Grammy for Shadow Dances: Stravinsky Miniatures, a 1998 Grammy nomination for its recording of Mozart piano concertos with Richard Goode, and Musical America's 1998 Ensemble of the Year award. Cellist Julian Fifer and a group of musicians who aspired to perform orchestral repertoire as chamber music -- through their own close collaborative efforts and without a conductor -- founded Orpheus in 1972. The ensemble developed its approach to the study and performance of this repertoire by bringing to the orchestral setting the chamber music principles of personal involvement and mutual respect. Orpheus is a self-governing organization; the players demand of one another a high level of personal and musical responsibility and they rotate seating positions to give each player the opportunity to lead a section. Together they make the interpretive decisions that are ordinarily the work of a conductor, choose the repertoire and create the programs, and continually study and refine their rehearsal techniques. Orpheus's democratic artistic collaboration, now known as the Orpheus Process, has garnered widespread interest. In 2001, Henry Holt/Times Books published Leadership Ensemble: Lessons in Collaborative Management from the World's Only Conductorless Orchestra. In December 2002, EuroArts will release the documentary Orpheus in the Business World, a follow up to the 1997 film Orpheus in the Real World. Members of Orpheus have received recognition for solo, chamber music, and orchestral performances. Each brings a diversity of musical experience to the orchestra, which constantly enriches and nurtures the musical growth of the ensemble. Of the 17 string and 11 wind players who comprise the basic membership of Orpheus, many also hold teaching positions at prominent conservatories and universities in the New York and New England areas, including Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, Mannes College of Music, Columbia University, and Yale University. Orpheus has recorded extensively for Deutsche Grammophon. Included in its catalogue of 60 recordings are several Haydn symphonies and Mozart serenades, the complete Mozart wind concertos with Orpheus members as soloists, Romantic works by Dvorák, Grieg, and Tchaikovsky, and a number of 20th-century classics by Bartók, Prokofiev, Copland, and Stravinsky. Recent collaborations include a recording with countertenor Andreas Scholl released in November 2001 (Decca); Creation, a jazz-inspired CD of classics from 1920's Paris with saxophonist Branford Marsalis (SONY Classical); a recording with cellist Mischa Maisky (DG); and a recording of Piazzolla works with tango pianist Pablo Ziegler (BMG).
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