Chamber Orchestra of Europe - Bychkov - Labèque

Semyon Bychkov is full of praise for the Chamber Orchestra of Europe: “It symbolises an idealistic vision of a shared eternal quest for musical expression, a quest based both on extraordinary musical talent and innate compatibility. Here, the intimacy of chamber music broadens out to an orchestral level where idealism and intellectual curiosity feed off one another. Their fresh intensity, their sheer joy of making music and being together and their lack of routine constitute the basic characteristics of the COE, which make it a particularly bright star in the musical universe”. So we get that the COE, considered to be one of the best chamber orchestras in the world, and the Russian conductor with the precise and transparent touch, get along well. Their May 2009 concert at the Cité de la musique was ample proof of their entente when Bychkov jumped in at short notice to replace his compatriot Yuri Temirkanov. Another example of their partnership was to be seen in November 2011 in the same venue, where the conductor got the chance to work on a repertoire he rarely gets a chance to practice (but where the orchestra excels evident from their recordings with Abbado) with Schubert's “Great” Symphony. Bychkov must have enjoyed the experience as they are working together again at the Grand Théâtre de Provence on Schubert's “Unfinished” Symphony completing the programme with Mozart's solar Symphony No. 41 and Poulenc's Concerto for Two Pianos, keeping it in the “family” with Marielle and Katia Labèque.