"A very exciting project on the way to true success" Yuri Bashmet

The East-West Chamber Orchestra brings together soloists and leading orchestra players from France, Georgia, Germany, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and others in order to strengthen the bond and cultural co-operations between Eastern- and Western Europe. The members of the Orchestra are outstanding performers in their own right – concertmasters and leaders of renowned orchestras, professors of music academies as well as winners of the most prestigious competitions worldwide, including the Tchaikovsky, ARD and the Paganini. The pool of musicians participating not only includes very acclaimed soloists but it is also a gathering of the finest instruments. This rare combination gives the East-West Chamber Orchestra its distinguished sound.

Founded 2015 as orchestra in-residence for the Yuri Bashmet International Music Festival, the Orchestra not only gets together during festival times but also for concerts during each season and projects touring Europe. The Orchestra understands itself as an ambassador for transnational collaboration, peace and cultural interaction across Europe and beyond.

The soloists, who played with the East-West Chamber Orchestra include Julian Rachlin, Paul Badura-Skoda, David Geringas, Viviane Hagner, Sarah Mc.Elravy, Massimo Mercelli among others.

Music and Artistic Director Rostislav Krimer is also the Artistic Director of the Yuri Bashmet International Music Festival, which over the last decade has seen many world-class artists each year. Founding the Orchestra was the natural next step for the highly acclaimed pianist who is the duo partner of many well-known soloists, including Maxim Vengerov, Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Sergey Krylov and Victor Tretyakov.