La Serenissima

Recognised for ‘whipping up a storm with Vivaldi’, La Serenissima is ‘one of Britain’s best-loved chamber orchestras’ (The Telegraph). The group has uncovered a plethora of neglected music, making it available to all through live performance, recording and outreach. Uniquely, the group’s entire repertoire is edited from source material by founder and violinist, Adrian Chandler OSI.

Established in 1994, La Serenissima is recognised for its outstanding recording catalogue, which is regularly featured on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM and international radio; as well as in worldwide advertising (Beats, 2022) and film (Portrait of a Lady on Fire, 2020). The group has twice won the Gramophone Award for ‘Baroque Instrumental’ for The French Connection (2010) and The Italian Job (2017). La Serenissima topped the UK Classical Chart in 2018 with album Vivaldi x2. 

The ensemble’s growing online following is evidenced by more than a 1.3 million monthly Spotify listeners; their 2015 recording of The Four Seasons is now ‘potentially the most streamed interpretation ever’ (Gramophone). Forza Azzurri! (2022) was featured on Italian Radio:24 – “No irony, simply the umpteenth demonstration of the love of Adrian Chandler, founder and director of the La Serenissima ensemble, for our country and for our music.” The group creates digital outreach resources for everyone, available on YouTube, and opportunities for young professional instrumentalists from across the globe via Emerging Artist Chairs. ‘Discovering Vivaldi’, a 50-minute podcast, was enabled by Culture Recovery Funding in 2022 – helping La Serenissima to reach audiences in different ways.

La Serenissima has performed throughout the UK and internationally in concert series and festivals including London Festival of Baroque Music, MustonenFest (Estonia), Handel-Festspiele (Germany), Valletta International Baroque Festival (Malta) and International Cervantes Festival (Mexico). The group has given the UK premiere of Brescianello’s opera Tisbe (2018) and the modern premiere of Caldara’s opera Lucio Papirio Dittatore (2019). The group’s ‘exquisite playing’ (The Guardian) has featured in two Monteverdi productions at Longborough Festival Opera since the pandemic. La Serenissima celebrates its 30th Anniversary at London’s Wigmore Hall during 2024-5 with a residency ‘The A-Z of the Italian Baroque’.

La Serenissima is proud to have as its Honorary Patron, His Excellency The Ambassador of Italy to the UK.