Amsterdam Sinfonietta
Orchestra
Amsterdam Sinfonietta was founded in 1988 with Lev Markiz as its first artistic director. Candida Thompson has been associated with Amsterdam Sinfonietta as concertmaster since 1995, and since 2003 she has also been artistic director of the orchestra. Over the past decades, Amsterdam Sinfonietta has become a regular performer of European concert halls and festivals.
Amsterdam Sinfonietta is characterized by innovative programming. In addition to the established string repertoire, the orchestra brings original and exciting combinations of musical works, connecting old and new music, playing known and unknown repertoire. The orchestra commissions compositions and arrangements. It enters into unexpected collaborations and carries out groundbreaking programs, including film, dance, and theater.
Amsterdam Sinfonietta has released many CDs, including the complete string symphonies of Felix Mendelssohn with BIS, and 14 CDs with their own label Channel Classics since 2004, including The Mahler Album, The Argentinian Album, and most recently Lento Religioso, a collection of short arrangements for string orchestra. The orchestra has also recorded for the labels ECM, Sony Classical, and Deutsche Grammophon. Their first classical music film Strings premiered in March 2020, followed by releases of the films Misirlou (traditional), Atashgah (Jacobsen), and Tango (Piazzolla).