After two years of preparatory effort, the MCO Foundation has presented the Mahler Chamber Orchestra with a violin made by Antonio Stradivari in the year 1723. The instrument is now on loan to the MCO for use by the orchestra’s concertmaster. The MCO Foundation, with a Foundation Council made up of Claudio Abbado and Karin and Roland Berger, was founded in 2008 with the goal of supporting the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

Lucerne, 11 August 2011 – This morning, the Stradivarius was officially handed over to MCO concertmaster Gregory Ahss. The presentation was opened by remarks by Foundation Board Chairman Dr. Carsten Markfort, who, through his efforts toward bringing together the owners of the Stradivarius with the MCO, made the project possible in the first place. 

The MCO Foundation’s support of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra focuses specifically on the advancement of young talent (scholarships for select students from the MCO Academy) and contemporary music (commissions for new works), and also makes possible chamber music concerts in new and unusual formats (Late Night concerts, club concerts).

The concertmaster’s violin influences the sound of the entire orchestra. The success of the MCO Foundation in providing Gregory Ahss with an instrument from the most famous violinmaker of all time is an extraordinary gift. Gregory Ahss, MCO General Manager Andreas Richter and MCO Board member Philipp von Steinaecker extended their heartfelt thanks to the generous owners of the instrument, to the Foundation Board for their dedication, and to all those who supported the project.

The presentation of the instrument took place in the context of the LUCERNE FESTIVAL, where the MCO is currently in residence. The MCO appears every year as the core of the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA under the direction of Claudio Abbado and also in its usual size with concerts of its own. At yesterday’s opening concert of the LUCERNE FESTIVAL Summer 2011, the Stradivarius appeared publicly for the first time in the hands of concertmaster of the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA.

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra has operated since its founding in the year 1997 almost entirely without public funding. Independent of external support structures, the MCO has maintained a high degree of artistic freedom and flexibility in its 14 years of existence. The MCO relies on the support of sponsors and private donors. The MCO’s funding network is carried primarily by the MCO Foundation and administered by the orchestra’s management. The structure offers private donors the chance to make a specifically targeted funding commitment to the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.