Concerto Copenhagen played its first concert in 1991 and has since developed into Scandinavia’s leading early music ensemble joining the league of the world’s most exciting and innovative Baroque orchestras.Original interpretations and a strong ability to communicate with the audience are among Concerto Copenhagen’s hallmarks – making old music vital, relevant and contemporary.

In 1999 the internationally acclaimed harpsichordist and chamber musician, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, became the ensemble’s chief artistic director, and was awarded the coveted Léonie Sonning Music Prize in 2007.

Scandinavian origins

The collaboration between Concerto Copenhagen and Lars Ulrik Mortensen has led to an exciting artistic and musical journey, appreciated and praised by audiences and critics worldwide, and combining a repertoire of well-known European music with less familiar works of Scandinavian origin.

Over the years Concerto Copenhagen has collaborated with many internationally renowned artists in the Early Music scene, including Emma Kirkby, Andreas Scholl, Anne Sofie von Otter, Sonia Prina, Vivica Genaux, Andrew Manze, Andrew Lawrence-King, Reinhard Goebel, Ronald Brautigam, Jordi Savall, and Alfredo Bernardini, the orchestra’s principal guest conductor. Beginning in 2015 the Danish composer Karl Aage Rasmussen will be composer-in-residence and accompany the orchestra on an adventurous expedition into the world of contemporary music.

International attention

Concerto Copenhagen’s CD recordings for CPO, Deutsche Grammophon and BIS, as well as DVD productions for Harmonia Mundi and Decca have attracted worldwide attention and won several international awards. This has led to invitations from many of Europe’s leading concert venues and festivals, as well as extensive tours to the USA, Japan, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. International reviews reflect the experience of a cosmopolitan orchestra at the highest level.

Concerto Copenhagen’s collaboration with Italian opera director Deda Cristina Colonna has led to highly successful opera productions in the orchestra’s hometown Copenhagen. In 2016 Concerto Copenhagen will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a wide range of projects and events.

Partners and sponsors

Concerto Copenhagen’s media partner in Denmark is DR (National Danish Broadcast Corporation). Most live concerts are recorded and broadcast in Denmark as well as by the EBU network in most parts of the world, and heard by millions of listeners.

In Denmark, Concerto Copenhagen enjoys a close collaboration with The Royal Theatre, on average collaborating on one opera every year. Recent productions include works by Monteverdi and Mozart as well as performances of a selection of Handel’s most beloved operas, featuring counter-tenor Andreas Scholl as the lead role in both Julius Caesar and Partenope.

The orchestra is supported by the Danish Arts Council and is regarded as Denmark’s leading musical export within the field of classical music.