The Swedish Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1995 as the resident chamber orchestra for the Örebro municipality in Sweden and was joined by its current music director, Thomas Dausgaard, just two years later. Dausgaard and the ensemble have since then worked closely together to create a distinct and dynamic sound, resulting in a rapid rise to success and a firm place on the international scene. A tightly knit ensemble of 39 regular members, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra made its UK and USA débuts with Thomas Dausgaard in 2004, performing at the BBC Proms and the Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival. Since then the orchestra has toured regularly throughout Europe and also made its début in Japan.
The Swedish Chamber Orchestra continues to expand its repertoire, collaborating with contemporary composers including Brett Dean, Sally Beamish and H K Gruber. Together with Dausgaard, and for BIS, the ensemble has recorded the complete symphonies by Schumann (‘The most perceptive Schumann cycle in over three decades’, International Record Review) and Schubert (‘A cycle for our time’, Pizzicato). Other releases on the same label include symphonic works by Dvořák, Tchaikovsky and Bruckner, as well as music by Wagner and, most recently, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The orchestra is currently recording the complete orchestral works by Brahms, as well as its own ‘Brandenburg Project’ – a series of works commissioned from Brett Dean, Uri Caine, Anders Hillborg, Steven Mackey, Olga Neuwirth and Mark Anthony Turnage.
