Kölner Kammerorchester

In 2023, the Cologne Chamber Orchestra – the oldest chamber music orchestra in Germany – will be celebrating its 100th anniversary; it was founded in 1923 with the idea of achieving interpretations appropriate to each work. During its earliest years it performed under the baton of Hermann Abendroth.
In 1963, Erich Kraack turned the leadership of the Cologne Chamber Orchestra over to Helmut Müller- Brühl. In the autumn of 1964, Müller-Brühl took the Orchestra and pianist Wilhelm Kempff on a muchacclaimed tour of Switzerland, marking the beginning of the Orchestra’s collaboration with many renowned soloists.
Helmut Müller-Brühl opened up a new venue for the musicians – as a resident orchestra, they performed opera and concerts at the Brühl Palace Concerts, an institution he directed artistically for more than three decades. Ever since 1988, the Kölner Kammerorchester has been presenting its own concert series, “Das Meisterwerk”, at the Cologne Philharmonie. The orchestra performed for the 17th time at the Ruhr Piano F estival in 2022.