Since its foundation in 1997, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (MCO) has established itself as one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras. Working as a “global collective,” the MCO is led by its members in collaboration with its Berlin-based management office. The musicians, who come from around 25 different countries, join together to perform numerous projects. The chamber music dialogue and unanimous act of listening shape the Orchestra’s sound; it’s a philosophy inspired by the Orchestra’s founding mentor Claudio Abbado that the MCO calls The Sound of Listening. In the past 2023/2024 season, the MCO performed with conductors Anja Bihlmaier, Maxim Emelyanychev, Sir Simon Rattle, and Tugan Sokhiev and with its Artistic Advisor Daniele Gatti, among others. In the next season, the MCO will join the stage with Antonello Manacorda, Gianandrea Noseda, Elim Chan, Raphaël Pichon, Joanna Mallwitz and the Orchestra’s Conductor Laureate Daniel Harding.

The MCO is known for its performances without a conductor, in which a respective soloist leads the ensemble from their instrument. Most recently, the MCO has performed in this play-and-lead format with its Artistic Partners Yuja Wang and Mitsuko Uchida, with whom it tours several times a year. Projects with soloists Augustin Hadelich and Daniel Lozakovich are also planned for the 2024/2025 season.

The Orchestra maintains residencies in Berlin, Salzburg, and Lucerne; from 2026, it will succeed the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival. In 2024, the MCO assumed the role of Artistic Director of Musikwoche Hitzacker, where it presents a diverse repertoire characterised by chamber music every year. In March 2025, pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, a long-time friend and collaborator of the MCO will be the festival’s artist in residence.

The MCO is committed to enriching lives through music and actively creates on-and-off-stage encounters that bring music, learning, and creativity to communities across the globe. Its programme Feel the Music introduces music to deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, while the MCO Academy allows orchestra members to share their expertise with the next generation of musicians. Additionally, the MCO’s school concerts invite students on a multicultural journey, fostering introspection and contemplation on the theme of “Belonging.”

The MCO’s performances are often recorded and aired by major broadcasters and on ARTE; the ensemble’s most recent CD with works by Stravinsky and De Falla was released by harmonia mundo in February 2024. Together with its Artistic Partner for Immersive Experiences, Henrik Oppermann/Schallgeber, the MCO has developed a series of XR concert formats. Since July 2024, some of the chamber music pieces produced in XR have been available in the Mahler Chamber Orchestra app for Apple Vision Pro.