The Cologne Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1923 by Hermann Abendroth and gave its first concerts in the Rhine Chamber Music Festival under the direction of Hermann Abendroth and Otto Klemperer in the concert-hall of Brühl Castle. Three years later the ensemble was taken over by Erich Kraack, a pupil of Abendroth, and moved to Leverkusen. In 1964 he handed over the direction of the Cologne Chamber Orchestra to Helmut Müller-Brühl, who, through the study of philosophy and Catholic theology, as well as art and musicology, had acquired a comprehensive theoretical foundation for the interpretation of Baroque and Classical music, complemented through the early study of conducting and of the violin under his mentor Wolfgang Schneiderhahn.
In the autumn of 1964 the orchestra, under Helmut Müller-Brühl, embarked on a concert tour of Switzerland with the great pianist Wilhelm Kempff, the start of collaboration with international soloists. Since then there have been guest appearances throughout Europe, North and South America and Asia, with numerous recordings, broadcasts and television appearances. From 1976 until 1987 the ensemble played on period instruments under the name Capella Clementina.
With this Baroque formation Helmut Müller-Brühl, in numerous concerts and opera and oratorio performances, set a standard for historical performance-practice and the revival of Baroque music-theatre. Since 1987 the orchestra, as the Cologne Chamber Orchestra, has played according to the principles of historical performance-practice on modern instruments and so can meet the needs of modern concert halls. The presentation of the rising generation of young musicians has always been a particular concern of Helmut Müller-Brühl and many now well-known soloists enjoyed their first success with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra.
In 2001 the Cologne Chamber Orchestra won a Cannes Classical Award for its recording of Telemann’s Darmstadt Overtures (Naxos 8.554244), one of a number of acclaimed recordings in association with Naxos. In 2003 the Cologne Chamber Orchestra could look back on an existence of eighty years, of which forty had been under the artistic direction of Helmut Müller-Brühl. More recently they have successfully collaborated with Takako Nishizaki on the remarkable and delightful ‘discovery’ album of violin concertos by the Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Naxos 8.555040).
