Camerata Nordica is a Swedish

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

. Affiliated with the regional Kalmar Läns Musikstiftelse, the ensemble is administratively based in

Oskarshamn Oskarshamn is a coastal city and the seat of Oskarshamn Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 17,258 inhabitants in 2010. History Etymology Döderhultsvik was the original name before a town charter was granted in 1856. The name was then chan ...

, and gives concerts in various cities and venues in Sweden.

History

Founded in 1974 in

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 41,388 inhabitants in 2020 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

, the orchestra has formerly been known as the Oskarshamn Ensemble, Camerata Roman (after the Swedish Baroque composer

Johan Helmich Roman Johan Helmich Roman (26 October 1694 – 20 November 1758) was a Swedish Baroque composer. He has been called "the father of Swedish music" or "the Swedish Handel." He was the leader of the Swedish Royal Orchestra during the first decades of Swed ...

), and Camerata Sweden. Since 2018, Camerata Nordica's orchestra director and artistic director has been the cellist Zéphyrin Rey-Bellet. The orchestra is unusual in that it plays in camerata form, without a conductor and standing in a tight formation, which provides energy and interaction. The orchestra consists of permanent employees and freelance musicians. The musicians are handpicked from ensembles and orchestras all over the world, often winners of international competitions. Some of the leaders with whom the orchestra has played are

Norbert Brainin Norbert Brainin, OBE (12 March 1923 in Vienna – 10 April 2005 in London) was the first violinist of the Amadeus Quartet, one of the world's most highly regarded string quartets. Because of Brainin's Jewish origin, he was driven out of Vienna ...

, Levon Chilingirian,

Philippe Graffin Philippe Graffin (born 1964 in Romilly-sur-Seine) is a French violinist. Pupil of Josef Gingold, Philippe Hirschhorn and Viktor Liberman. He has made several recordings for Hyperion Records as well as "Avie Records" and "Onyx". He was born in R ...

, Giovanni Guzzo,

Frans Helmerson Frans Helmerson (born 1945) is a Swedish cellist, pedagogue, and conductor. Biography Helmerson was born in 1945 and by the age of 8 began playing cello. Later on, he studied with Guido Vecchi in Götheborg, Giuseppe Selmi in Rome, and with Willi ...

, Barnabás Kelemen,

Ernst Kovacic Ernst Kovacic (born 12 April 1943 in Kapfenberg, Styria) is an Austrian violinist and conductor. Studies Ernst Kovacic studied violin, piano and organ at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and took composition lessons there. He ...

Pekka Kuusisto Pekka Kuusisto (born 7 October 1976) is a Finnish musician. Biography Kuusisto comes from a musical lineage. His grandfather was the composer and organist Taneli Kuusisto, his father Ilkka Kuusisto, who had many functions in Finnish musical l ...

, Josef Suk,

Terje Tønnesen Terje Tønnesen (born 27 February 1955 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian classical violinist. His first marriage, from 1979 to 1986, was to the pianist Reidun Askeland (born 1957). In 1986 he married the actress Hilde Grythe (born 18 July 1955) ...

Ulf Wallin Ulf Wallin is a Swedish classical violinist and professor at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin. Life Born in Växjö, Wallin studied at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm and at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst ...

, and

Antje Weithaas Antje Weithaas (born 1966) is a German classical violinist. Apart from solo recitals and chamber music performances, she has played with leading orchestras in Europe, Asia and the United States. Career Born in Guben, Weithaas studied at the ...

. Camerata Nordica has regularly toured abroad, including to England, Poland, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and the USA, which were visited during eight tours.

Recordings

The orchestra has recorded around 15 discs under its own name, including music by

Anders Eliasson Anders Erik Birger Eliasson (3 April 1947 – 20 May 2013) was a Swedish composer. Life Eliasson was born in Borlänge. His "earliest musical experiences originated from within myself: they were my own singing, and familiar tunes I heard on ...

and Beethoven's late string quartets, arranged for string orchestra. Pianist Per Tengstrand is a soloist with the orchestra on three discs of Mozart's piano concertos. The orchestra has recorded commercially for such labels as BIS and Caprice Records, for which for example they have recorded CDs of works by

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

and Anders Eliasson. Including recordings issued under its previous names, one source suggests that Camerata Nordica has produced some 22 recordings; the Orchestra's website says 'Nearly 30'.

References

External links

*
BIS Records page on Camerata Nordica

Facebook, "Save Camerata Nordica", 12 September 2017
{{authority control Musical groups established in 1974 Swedish orchestras Chamber orchestras Musical groups from Kalmar County Culture in Oskarshamn