Mahler Chamber Orchestra: Music from the New World

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra is a free and self-determined ensemble that sees itself as a “nomadic collective” which meets regularly for projects and tours in Europe and around the world. The core of the orchestra consists of 45 members from 20 countries. Its characteristic sound is the result of an intensive artistic dialogue, approaching symphonic repertoire as chamber music. The orchestra has a long-standing artistic partnership with Daniel Harding, its current honorary conductor. Other partners are violinist Pekka Kuusisto and pianists Mitsuko Uchida and Leif Ove Andsnes. While the Mahler Chamber Orchestra initially focussed on repertoire from the classical and romantic eras, contemporary music played an increasingly important role in its concert programmes. George Benjamin composed the opera Written on Skin in 2012 for the orchestra; it was performed at the Philharmonie Berlin in 2018. Today, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra is a regular guest at Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation concerts.

Today, Manacorda brings his precise gestures and concentrated body language to the world's top opera houses and leading symphony orchestras. Born into an Italian-French family, Manacorda is celebrated for his ability to transfer the attention to detail that characterises historically-informed performance practice to the world of large symphony orchestras. His secret? “No musician plays well when fear is the driving force,"  he says. "Conductors and orchestras need to work together at eye level.” During his time as artistic director of the Kammerakademie Potsdam between 2010 until the end of the 2024/2025 season, Manacorda has produced a series of award-winning recordings. After acclaimed debuts at the Salzburg Festival, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Bavarian State Opera and the Berlin State Opera, Manacorda will now direct performances at the Zurich Opera House, the Opéra National de Paris and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, as well as returning to the Berliner Philharmoniker, where he made his debut in 2022.

Prohaska studied at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin, making her debut at the Komische Oper Berlin when she was only 17 years old. Just three years later she performed for the first time at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, where she remains a member of the ensemble, despite her busy international career. Prohaska, who has been praised for her "crystal-clear diction” (Der Standard) and “the silvery, glittering artistry of her coloratura, which always remains profoundly human” (Salzburger Nachrichten), is a regular guest at the world's leading opera houses and concert halls. She has an exceptionally broad repertoire, ranging from Monteverdi to world premieres. She frequently works with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Philippe Jordan and Sir Simon Rattle, and with orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Berliner Philharmoniker.  With such a wide range of styles and partners, how does Prohaska stay focussed? “The main thing is to remain true to your own sound,” she says.