Founded in 1997 by the renowned violinist Gidon Kremer, the Grammy-award winning chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica is already considered one of the most prominent international ensembles in Europe and beyond. Although it originally began as a "birthday present to myself" to celebrate his 50 years of life in 1997, Gidon Kremer immediately envisaged the potential behind the 27-member ensemble of young musicians drawn from the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as a medium to share his rich artistic experience with the new generation and, at the same time, to promote and inspire the musical and cultural life of the Baltics.

Having opted to make the world their permanent home, Kremerata Baltica annually performs about 60 concerts during six annual tours throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Regular performances in Vienna, Berlin, Paris, London, Moscow, and New York in the greatest halls are followed by appearances at renowned music festivals such as Salzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Verbier, Dresden, the Prague Spring and the BBC Proms in London.

In addition to its performances as a full chamber orchestra, Kremerata Baltica also shines in ingeniously-programmed chamber music performances under the label Kremerata Musica with small- to medium-sized formations comprised of members of the group.
Naturally, the musical scene of the Baltics is of great importance to Kremerata Baltica. Supported by a joint-program of the Ministries of Culture of all three countries, numerous performances are held every year in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. While the majority of the concerts are led by and performed with Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica has appeared with celebrated conductors and soloists such as Jessye Norman, Oleg Maisenberg, David Geringas, Boris Pergamenschikow, Tatiana Grindenko, Sir Simon Rattle, Christoph Eschenbach and Kent Nagano.

Programming and performing an unusually extensive and versatile repertoire, Kremerata Baltica give much importance to contemporary music. The ensemble regularly performs music of living Eastern European composers and has commissioned new works by Pärt, Kancheli, Vasks, Desyatnikov, and Raskatov.

As exclusive Nonesuch Records artists, Kremerata Baltica has made six recordings under the label, one of which "After Mozart" received the Grammy Award in 2002 from the Recording Academy in the United States ("Classical Music: Best Small Ensemble Performance"). Their latest recording -- titled "Happy Birthday" to mark the ensemble's five years of existence -- features a selection of humourous and show-stopping works.

For more information: http://www.kremerata-baltica.com