Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn

"The Württemberger are among the top ensembles in Europe, they truly play with virtuosity"
Frankfurter Neue Presse

Carried by the passion, quality and inspiration of its members, the name Wurttemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn (WCO) stands for an energetic style of music-making and a distinct individuality of orchestral sound. These, along with the competence of sensitive accompaniment, which is highly valued by many soloists, are the guarantors of the orchestra's international success story.

The WCO is a welcome guest at important international venues - recently at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Queen Elisabeth Hall Antwerp, the Cologne Philharmonie, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and the Rheingau Music Festival. In terms of touring activities, a concert tour to South Korea is on the calendar for the 2022/23 season.

Risto Joost conductor

Estonian conductor Risto Joost excels by his specialized versatility and has gained widespread recognition for his work both in the opera pit and on concert stage. The trained singer and Conductor in Residence of the Estonian National Opera has already held major artistic positions, such as Chief Conductor of the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and Artistic Director of the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir from 2015 to 2019. He succeeded at important competitions and conducted some of the world’s most distinguished orchestras.

From 2024/25 Risto Joost will be Chief Conductor of Wurttemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn further to his thriving partnership since several years. Since 2020/21 Joost is Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of Theatre Vanemuine Tartu.

Risto Joost is in demand as a guest conductor with orchestras such as Helsinki Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Norwegian Opera Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Lahti Sinfonia,

Trondheim Symphony, Netherlands Philharmonic, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Bavarian State Orchestra, Dortmund Philharmonic, Gulbenkian Orchestra & Choir, Prague Radio Symphony, Brno Philharmonic, Janacek Philharmonic, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Flanders Symphony, Philharmonie Zuidnederland, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Orchester Orchestra Teatro la Fenice, Slovenian Philharmonic, Latvian National Symphony, Liepaja Symphony, Estonian National Symphony among others.
In addition he collaborated with the RIAS Kammerchor, SWR Vokalensemble, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Swedish Radio Choir, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir to name a few.                                                                                                                                                    

Forthcoming highlights are his debut with Antwerp Symphony and return visits to Gulbenkian Orchestra, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Bergen Philharmonic, Kristiansand Symphony, Vaasa City Orchestra, Liepaja Symphony, MiTo Festival with Tallinn Chamber Orchestra & EPCC, etc. At Theatre Vanemuine he conducts the new productions of Turandot and Giulio Cesare.

Risto Joost’s discography includes four albums by Tõnu Korvits: The Sound of Wings and You are Light and Morning (Sei la luce e il mattino) with Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir,  Hymns to the Nordic Lights with Estonian National Symphony as well as Moorland Elegies (all Ondine). Furthermore it contains works by Haydn with Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Peeter Vähi with Latvian National Symphony, Arvo Pärt with Netherlands Chamber Orchestra & Netherlands Chamber Choir.

For his artistic activities in Estonia and abroad, Risto Joost received the music award of the Cultural Foundation in Estonia in 2016 and was awarded the Young Cultural Figure Award of the Estonian Republic in 2011. He was Prizewinner of the Malko Conducting Competition 2015 and Jorma Panula Conducting Competition 2012.

Risto Joost has studied at the Estonian Academy of Music and received further training at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. In 2008, Risto Joost graduated from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm with a Masters Degree, majoring in orchestral conducting with Jorma Panula.

Joost founded the chamber choir Voces Musicales/Voces Tallinn in Estonia in 1999 and has been Artistic Director of the Birgitta Festival Tallinn in 2017 and 2018.

Season 2023/24

Michael Barenboim violin

Following this celebrated debut, he has since performed the Schoenberg concerto with the Vienna Philharmonic under Daniel Barenboim, the Chicago Symphony under Asher Fisch, the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, and the Berlin Philharmonic under Vasily Petrenko. Michael regularly gives solo recitals in the world’s most prestigious concert halls, such as Wigmore Hall in London, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Sydney Opera House, and Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. He presented a program with works by Pierre Boulez in Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Opéra National de Paris, the Barbican Centre in London, the Dortmund Konzerthaus, and the Salzburg Festival.

As a member of the Boulez Ensemble, Michael has premiered numerous new works by composers such as Jörg Widmann, Kareem Rouston, and many others. He is a professor for violin and chamber music at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, and has since 2020 been the academy’s Dean. In addition, he and seven other selected members of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra founded the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble in 2020 and were able to complete a 13-concert tour of the USA shortly before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Among Michael’s last solo performances before the lockdown were Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under Robert Trevino and Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel.