Amsterdam Sinfonietta
Orchestra
Amsterdam Sinfonietta was founded in 1988 with Lev Markiz as the first Artistic Director. Candida Thompson has been the orchestra’s concertmaster since 1995 and became the Artistic Director in 2003. Throughout the past decades, Amsterdam Sinfonietta has grown into a regular guest at European concert halls and festivals. Amsterdam Sinfonietta has played a prominent role at the Cello Biënnale since the first edition in 2006, often giving world premieres of pieces by composers such as Dobrinka Tabakova, Pēteris Vasks, and David Lang.
Amsterdam Sinfonietta is characterised by its innovative programming. In addition to the core string repertoire, the orchestra brings original and exciting combinations of pieces, connects early and contemporary music, well-known and unknown repertoire. The orchestra commissions compositions and arrangements. It enters into unexpected collaborations and performs groundbreaking programmes, often including film, dance, and theatre.
Amsterdam Sinfonietta has recorded various CDs under the label BIS, including Mendelssohn’s complete string symphonies, as well as 14 CDs since 2004 under their regular label Channel Classics, including The Mahler Album, The Argentinian Album, Lento Religioso, a collection of short arrangements for string orchestra, and Formidable, a collection of French chansons with baritone Thomas Oliemans. The orchestra has also recorded under the labels ECM, Sony Classical, and Deutsche Grammophon. Their first classical music film Strings saw its premiere in March 2020, followed by the releases of the films Misirlou (traditional), Atashgah (Jacobsen), and Tango (Piazzolla).