Wrocław Baroque Orchestra

Founded in 2006 by Andrzej Kosendiak, it is a resident ensemble of the Witold Lutosławski National Forum of Music, one of few cultural institutions in Poland boasting its own baroque orchestra playing historical instruments. During each NFM concert season, WBO presents its own concert series, always ardently applauded by the audience. The WBO repertoire encompasses works from early Baroque to Romanticism, from chamber line-ups to large oratorios. The superb cellist Jarosław Thiel has been Artistic Director of WBO since its inception.

Today, Wrocław Baroque Orchestra counts among the most important Polish ensembles playing historical instruments. The orchestra’s output and high level of performance result in collaborations with the biggest names on the international early music scene. WBO has performed under the baton of Philippe Herreweghe, Giovanni Antonini, Andrew Parrott, Masaaki Suzuki, Ivor Bolton, Martin Haselböck, Paul McCreesh, Laurence Cummings. The orchestra cooperates with excellent ensembles and soloists, and among them Orchester Wiener Akademie, Bach Collegium Japan, Collegium Vocale Gent, Cantus Cölln, RIAS Kammerchor, Gli Angeli Genève, Ian Bostridge, Julia Lezhneva, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Shunske Sato, Jakub Józef Orliński, Vivica Genaux, Andreas Scholl, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Giuliano Carmignola, Regula Mühlemann, Bruno de Sá, Renata Pokupić. 

WBO guest performs at prestigious festivals, participates in TV and radio broadcasts (i.a. Mezzo TV) and recording sessions.  

The first CD of WBO won a Fryderyk in the Phonographic Debut of the Year category, and the following recordings have been nominated for the same award several times. 2017 saw the release of a new album – Haydn’s The Seasons – a result of collaboration with Paul McCreesh and his Gabrieli Consort & Players (the disc was nominated for Gramophone Awards in the Best Choral Recording category and was a recording of the month of the BBC Music Magazine in June 2017). 2018 brought the release of the album with the premiere recording of the original version of Phantoms by Moniuszko (CD Accord), featuring WBO, and the album 17th-century Sacred Music in Wrocław, recorded with Gli Angeli Genève and Concerto Palatino under the direction of Stephan MacLeod (Claves). The former received a Fryderyk 2019 in the Album of the Year – Choral Music, Oratorio and Opera category, the latter won an International Classical Music Award 2019 in the Baroque Vocal category.  

In 2019, an album recorded under the baton of Andrzej Kosendiak with works by Marcin Józef Żebrowski was released and later nominated for a Fryderyk 2020 in the Album of the Year – Oratorio and Opera Music category. In 2020, an album was published, featuring Karol Kurpiński’s Elegy in C minor (premiere recording), Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński’s Symphony No. 2 (first recording on historical instruments) and The Fairy Tale overture by Stanisław Moniuszko, recorded under the direction of Jarosław Thiel (CD Accord). This album was nominated for an International Classical Music Award 2022 and for a Fryderyk Award 2022 in the category Album of the Year – Symphonic Music. In 2022, the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra released: Johann David Heinichen – Dresden Vespers (world premiere recording for Accent), recorded with the Ensemble Polyharmonique, and Kings in the North recorded with baritone Tomáš Král (nominations for Opus Klassik Awards in several categories). In 2024, the latest album Mille Affetti with male soprano Bruno de Sá was released for label Warner Classic & Erato.