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 alongside with the competence of sensitive accompaniment.

The WCO is a welcome guest at important international venues such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Queen Elisabeth Hall Antwerp, Cologne Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Rheingau Music Festival. In 2022/23 the orchestra toured South Korea.

Risto Joost will be the new chief conductor as of the season 2024/25. He will direct the WCO in his first year in ten projects with 21 concerts in Amsterdam, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Karlsruhe, Wiesbaden, Ludwigsburg, Nürnberg, Mülheim/Ruhr, Kaiserslautern, apart from the orchestra’s own series in Heilbronn and Ulm. Further highlights include nine performances of Don Giovanni in Heilbronn.

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. He has already held major artistic positions such as Chief Conductor of the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Artistic Director of the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir and longstanding conductor of the Estonian National Opera.

Since 2024/25 Risto Joost is Chief Conductor of Wurttemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, as well as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of Theatre Vanemuine Tartu since 2020/21.

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, Antwerp Symphony, Kristiansand Symphony, Vaasa City Orchestra,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.

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.