Ensemble 415

Ensemble 415 specializes in Baroque repertoire performed on period instruments. Its name alludes to the standard Baroque tuning pitch. In smaller-scale works the ensemble typically fields only a handful of musicians, whereas larger pieces call for forces ranging from thirteen to forty players. Although its programs have encompassed familiar pieces by J.S. Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel together with more obscure works by Muffat, the ensemble has earned its strongest reputation for performances of Italian composers such as Corelli, Boccherini, Bononcini, Geminiani, Albinoni, Sammartini, and Valentini, among others. The group has also ventured into the Classical period with music by Haydn and Mozart.

During the concert season Ensemble 415 appears at halls across Switzerland, France, and Germany, among them the Lausanne opera house, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Komische Oper in Berlin, the theaters of Caen and Poissy, and the Clermont-Ferrand Opera. Festival engagements have taken the players to the Utrecht Early Music Festival, the Copenhagen Early Music Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, and numerous additional events. Extensive tours have carried the ensemble throughout Europe, Asia, and South America, and its recordings have appeared on Harmonia Mundi, Zig-Zag Territoires, Erato, Accent, and Astrée.

Founded in Geneva in 1981 by Baroque violinist Chiara Banchini, who continues to serve as artistic director and conductor, the ensemble attracted early critical and public interest. International recognition followed in the mid-1990s with the release of its Harmonia Mundi recording of Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater. The ensemble’s first release for Zig-Zag Territoires, a disc of Valentini concertos, received the Diapason d’Or in 2002. Subsequent touring has included appearances in Australia, Singapore, Turkey, Russia, and Slovenia as well as major European centers. A March 2010 visit to Tokyo and Osaka featuring soprano Cristina Kiehr in music by Boccherini met with widespread critical acclaim. Among later releases is the 2010 Harmonia Mundi recording of Tartini concertos performed with cellist Roel Dieltiens and violinist Enrico Gatti.