LCO

Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra LCO

Founded in 1960 by Professor Saulius Sondeckis, the LITHUANIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (LCO) has already conducted more than sixty seasons. The LCO is one of the most remarkable and acclaimed Lithuanian ensembles in the world. Celebrated violin virtuoso Sergej Krylov has been its artistic director and conductor for twelve years since 2008.

Over the years, the orchestra has toured throughout Europe, the Americas, the Republic of South Africa, Japan, China, Australia and Iceland as an ambassador for Lithuanian musical art. LCO has graced the stages of Berlin’s Philharmonie and Vienna’s Musikverein, London’s Royal Festival Hall, Rome’s Santa Cecilia, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, Paris’s Salle Pleyel and Salle Gaveau and many more. The LCO has collaborated with Mstislav Rostropovich, Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, David Geringas and other eminent musicians. The great musician and humanist Lord Yehudi Menuhin has left a deep imprint on the orchestra’s biography.

The LCO has performed with violinists Julian Rachlin, Vadim Repin and Sergej Krylov, violists Maxim Rysanov and Hartmut Rohde, cellists Mischa Maisky and Denis Shapovalov, pianists Mūza Rubackytė, Andrius Žlabys, Lukas Geniušas, Dmitri Bashkirov and Alessandro Deljavan, flutist Denis Bouriakov, conductors Ronald Zollman and Modestas Pitrėnas, and composer, pianist and conductor Ezio Bosso. In recent years, the OCH has given concerts in Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, Slovenia, Poland, China, Italy, Costa Rica and Lebanon.

In addition to baroque and classical masterpieces, interpretations of contemporary music play an important role in the orchestra’s concert programs. An ardent supporter of the works of Lithuanian composers, the LCO often performs opuses by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Eduardas Balsys, Julius Juzeliūnas, Osvaldas Balakauskas, Teisutis Makačinas, Jonas Tamulionis, Algirdas Martinaitis, Mindaugas Urbaitis, Arvydas Malcys, Vidmantas Bartulis, Raminta Šerkšnytė, Justė Janulytė and Loreta Narvilaitė

The LCO has recorded over 100 LPs and CDs featuring a wide variety of repertoires. In 2016, Deutsche Grammophon, the world’s most renowned classical music label, released the Lithuanian ensemble’s first CD featuring the LCO and Sergej Krylov in Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Concerts No. 8 and No. 9 for violin and strings. With this CD, the LCO has become the first Lithuanian ensemble to enter the world’s classical music elite.