FIVE ORCHESTRAS
CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF EUROPEº
Established: 1981
Musicians: 50 (from 15 countries)
Home: London (but plays mainly in continental Europe)
Notable conductors: Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Claudio Abbado, Paavo Berglund
Recordings: more than 250 works, many on its own label
Web: www.coeurope.org
LONDON SINFONIETTA
Established: 1968
Home: London
Notable conductors: David Atherton (founder), Oliver Knussen (conductor laureate)
Recordings: more than 150 releases, many on its own label
Web: www.londonsinfonietta.org.uk
ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
Established: 1986
Organization: Player-led cooperative; leadership rotates among four musicians
Home: London
Notable conductors: Simon Rattle, Frans Brüggen, Charles Mackerras, Roger Norrington
Recordings: more than 60 releases, from Purcell to Verdi
Web: www.oae.co.uk
PHILHARMONIA BAROQUE ORCHESTRAº
Established: 1981
Home: San Francisco
Music director: Nicholas McGegan (since 1985)
Notable conductors: William Christie, Gustav Leonhardt, Jordi Savall
Recordings: 25 discs for the Harmonia Mundi, Reference Recordings and BMG labels
Web: www.philharmonia.org
ST. PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Established: 1959 ("full-time" since the late 1960s)
Musicians: 35
Organization: Works with a changing group of artistic partners (currently Roberto Abbado, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Douglas Boyd, Nicholas McGegan and Dawn Upshaw)
Notable conductors: Dennis Russell Davies, Christopher Hogwood, John Adams
Recordings: 67 (beginning in the vinyl era)