La Serenissima is the UK’s leading exponent of the music of eighteenth-century Venice.
Described as ‘one of Britain’s best-loved chamber orchestras’ (The Telegraph) La Serenissima has uncovered a plethora of neglected music, making it available to all through live performance, recording and outreach. Uniquely, the group’s entire repertoire is edited from source material.
Founded in 1994 by violinist Adrian Chandler, La Serenissima is recognised for its outstanding recording catalogue, which is regularly featured on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM and international radio; advertising (Beats, 2022) and film (Portrait of a Lady on Fire, 2020). The group has won two Gramophone Awards: for The French Connection (2010) and The Italian Job (2017); in 2018 Vivaldi X2 topped the UK Classical Chart.
Their 2022 release Vivaldi’s Women, featuring the World Premiere of a concerto discovery, was praised by BBC Radio 3 Record Review as ‘a fine contextual album’ and attracted over a million streams in its first weeks of release; Forza Azzurri! featured in the UK Classical Chart and captured imaginations in the Italian press with radio24 interviewing Adrian Chandler in Italian in December 2022. La Serenissima performs across the UK and internationally. It has given the first UK performance of Brescianello’s opera Tisbe (2018) and the modern premiere of Caldara’s opera Lucio Papirio Dittatore (2019).
The group embarked on new digital formats in 2021 with support from the Culture Recovery Fund & Continuo Foundation.
This created new videos aimed at Key-Stage 2 children & the launch of a podcasting series Lost & Found. La Serenissima looks forward to a residency at Wigmore Hall in 2024-25 and performances throughout the UK and beyond. La Serenissima is proud to have as its Honorary Patron, His Excellency The Italian Ambassador to the UK.

Born on Merseyside in 1974, Adrian Chandler is recognised as one of today’s leading interpreters of Italian baroque music. Whilst a student at the Royal College of Music, Adrian founded La Serenissima with whom he has performed as Director/Soloist at major festivals internationally, and has recorded extensively for the Avie label (winning a Gramophone Award in 2010). He has been Guest Director/Soloist with many ensembles, most recently at Oslo Chamber Music Festival. Adrian’s performances have been broadcast extensively worldwide; his disc of virtuoso violin sonatas Per Monsieur Pisendel 2 released in 2014 attracted rave reviews and featured on the soundtrack of hit American TV series The Originals. His interpretation of The Four Seasons was released in 2015 to outstanding critical reception.

Known for his virtuosity and commitment as performer, Adrian also works tirelessly to research and edit new repertoire for La Serenissima. He held an Arts and Humanities Research Council fellowship in 2006 at Southampton University to research the development of the North Italian violin concerto 1690 – 1740, and subsequently a two-year post as Turner Sims Professor. He is curating La Serenissima’s first ever residency The Grand Tour at St John’s Smith Square, London during the 2016/17 season.
La Serenissima was formed in 1994 for a performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s La Sena festeggiante and has now firmly established itself as one of the leading exponents of the music of eighteenth century Venice and connected composers.
Since its first CD release in 2003, La Serenissima has been universally applauded by publications including BBC Music Magazine, Diapason, Gramophone Magazine, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, Fanfare Magazine, American Record Guide, The Strad, La Stampa and Goldberg Magazine for its performances on the Avie Label. Their records have variously been nominated for a Gramophone Award (on multiple occasions), included in an elite Forbes List and featured on a hit American television soundtrack. In 2010 the group’s eighth release Vivaldi: The French Connection was awarded the Gramophone Award for Best Baroque Instrumental CD. La Serenissima celebrated its 21st birthday by recording Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Manchester version) alongside works for violino in tromba marina: a reconstruction project undertaken by violinist Adrian Chandler, luthier David Rattray and the musicologist Michael Talbot which was a first in modern times. Released in September 2015, the record entered the UK Specialist Classical Chart at number 8, was featured as ‘Editor’s Choice’ Gramophone Magazine, ‘Concerto Choice’ BBC Music Magazine, voted ‘Classical Album of the Year’ by the Irish Times and was ranked in the Top 3 Picks of Radio 3’s ‘Building a Library – The Four Seasons’ from a catalogue of albums dating back to the 1940s.
The ensemble prides itself on bringing seldom-heard works to the concert platform, including Vivaldi’s operas Ottone in villa, Giustino, Tito Manlio, La Fida Ninfa, Catone in Utica and L’Olimpiade as well as a host of instrumental rarities, many of which have been committed to disc. Works by other composers feature too such as Albinoni’s Il nascimento dell’Aurora and sacred vocal works by Caldara.

La Serenissima has appeared at many of the UK’s leading festivals including Bath Bach, Beverley, Buxton, Cheltenham, Lichfield, South Bank, Spitalfields, Swansea International, Warwick and York Early Music festivals, and venues including St George’s Bristol, Snape Maltings, Cadogan Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall. The group has also appeared in Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malta, Mexico and Spain to great acclaim. Nearly the entire repertoire of La Serenissima is edited by Director Adrian Chandler from manuscript or contemporary printed sources, a testament to its commitment and passion for rare and exciting Italian music; a feat which makes it unique amongst its peers.

Highlights of the 2015/2016 season include the culmination of UK tour The Four Seasons supported by Arts Council England and the beginning of the ensemble’s first ever residency at St John’s Smith Square, London entitled The Grand T our.