The
Amsterdam Sinfonietta is a professional string orchestra consisting of 23 musicians. It has worked with visiting artists of international renown and has a broad, varied repertoire that includes music from outside the classical sphere. The orchestra launched a classical film series in 2020, and in 2021, it was heard accompanying
Thomas Oliemans on the album
Formidable!The
Amsterdam Sinfonietta was founded as the Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam in 1988; its members were young musicians who wanted to cultivate a high level of ensemble playing. The group's first music director was
Lev Markiz, who led performances of new works and 20th century Russian string orchestra repertory. He was succeeded in 1998 by
Peter Oundjian, who followed other string orchestras of the time by organizing performances of full-scale symphonic works.
Candida Thompson became the
Amsterdam Sinfonietta's concertmaster in 1995 and succeeded
Oundjian as artistic director for the 2003-2004 season. The
Amsterdam Sinfonietta signed to the Channel Classics label and released a recording of
Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence in 2004.
In addition to performances in the Netherlands and regular appearances throughout Europe, the
Amsterdam Sinfonietta has toured North and South America, South Africa, Australia, and Asia. It has appeared at the Barbican in London, the Cité de la Musique in Paris, and the National Center of the Performing Arts in Beijing. Though led by
Thompson, the orchestra performs without a conductor. However, the orchestra has had a long list of guest conductors and leaders, including such major figures as
Murray Perahia,
Iona Brown, and
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, among many others. The
Amsterdam Sinfonietta has performed numerous new works, including operatic productions for both adults and children. It has collaborated with many leading classical artists, such as
Kristian Bezuidenhout,
Sol Gabetta, and
Janine Jansen, as well as pop artists
Karin Bloemen,
Wende (Wende Snijders), and
Rufus Wainwright, among others.
The
Amsterdam Sinfonietta has recorded for the
ECM, Deutsche Grammophon, and Challenge Classics labels while continuing to record steadily for Channel Classics, issuing an album featuring
Bartók's Divertimento for string orchestra in
2018. That recording also included a string orchestra arrangement of the
Brahms String Quintet in G major, Op. 111, and many of its recordings have included orchestral versions of chamber works. The orchestra inaugurated a short film series in 2020 with Strings, which was followed by Misirlou and Atashgah. The
Amsterdam Sinfonietta was heard backing baritone
Thomas Oliemans on the album
Formidable! in 2021. ~ James Manheim & Keith Finke