FIVE ORCHESTRAS

CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF EUROPEº

Established: 1981

Musicians: 50 (from 15 countries)

Home: London (but plays mainly in continental Europe)

Notable conductors: Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Claudio Abbado, Paavo Berglund

Recordings: more than 250 works, many on its own label

Web: www.coeurope.org

LONDON SINFONIETTA

Established: 1968

Home: London

Notable conductors: David Atherton (founder), Oliver Knussen (conductor laureate)

Recordings: more than 150 releases, many on its own label

Web: www.londonsinfonietta.org.uk

ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

Established: 1986

Organization: Player-led cooperative; leadership rotates among four musicians

Home: London

Notable conductors: Simon Rattle, Frans Brüggen, Charles Mackerras, Roger Norrington

Recordings: more than 60 releases, from Purcell to Verdi

Web: www.oae.co.uk

PHILHARMONIA BAROQUE ORCHESTRAº

Established: 1981

Home: San Francisco

Music director: Nicholas McGegan (since 1985)

Notable conductors: William Christie, Gustav Leonhardt, Jordi Savall

Recordings: 25 discs for the Harmonia Mundi, Reference Recordings and BMG labels

Web: www.philharmonia.org

ST. PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Established: 1959 ("full-time" since the late 1960s)

Musicians: 35

Organization: Works with a changing group of artistic partners (currently Roberto Abbado, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Douglas Boyd, Nicholas McGegan and Dawn Upshaw)

Notable conductors: Dennis Russell Davies, Christopher Hogwood, John Adams

Recordings: 67 (beginning in the vinyl era)